Bloomfield teacher charged with sexual assault

by: Steven Yablonsk

wfsb

A seventh-grade teacher in Bloomfield appeared in court Friday after he was arrested on sexual assault charges. Connecticut State Police said Dale Kukucka, 35, a science teacher at the Carmen Arace Middle School, was brought into custody as a result of an investigation into an incident that took place on Oct. 20 in East Haddam.

According to court documents, Kukucka attacked a woman in the bathroom at the Grange Hall during the annual fife and drum muster.

“All of a sudden a male grabbed her neck with his right hand and put his left hand over her mouth. The female victim struggled and moved toward the window, which she broke with her left elbow, after which she lost consciousness,” court documents stated.

Two people walked into the bathroom, stopped the assault and found the victim, who was bloodied and unconscious, according to court documents.

“The female victim was weeping, with her shoulders slumped over, and she had dried red, blood-like substance over the entirety of her face including her hair,” court documents stated.

In addition, documents said, Kukucka’s girlfriend was with him at the event, but left for an unknown reason.

“She later came back to the Grange Hall to use the bathroom, and she was told not to go in because someone was raped. She then heard people talking about the male who raped the girl and they were saying Dale from the Essex Sailing Masters,” according to court documents.

Kukucka’s girlfriend showed the trooper a picture of him from her Facebook page, which was later used by police to identify him.

The victim told police she had a brief conversation with Kukucka earlier that night.

“The male told the victim his name was ‘Diego,'” the victim told police, according to court documents. “the male’s girlfriend later spoke with the female victim, and she told the female victim that her boyfriend’s name was Dale.”

Kukucka, of Andover, was charged with criminal attempt to commit sexual assault, strangulation, unlawful restraint and assault.

In a statement from Bloomfield Public Schools, officials said state police expressed an interest in Kukucka on Thursday and he was placed on paid administrative leave.

“He was called down to the principal’s office and he left on his own and turned himself in to state police,” said Bill Joslyn, who is the Bloomfield schools human resources specialist.

Letters were sent to parents of Carmen Arace Middle School students informing them about the arrest of Kukucka on Friday.

“We’re very concerned and we’re going to watch out how this plays out and where it takes us,” Joslyn said.

District told Eyewitness News they did an extensive background check on Kukucka, which included fingerprinting, and said no red flags had shown up.

Kukucka, who was charged with driving under the influence in Glastonbury in 2012, was arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on Friday. He was released on a $500,000 bond.

This article was written by Steven Yablonsk and originally published on wfsb