By
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Three girls and one boy were sexually abused in the stairwell of their elementary school by a man believed to be an intruder who gained access to the school through an unlocked door, police said.
The alleged attacks occurred Monday morning at Public School 89 in the Queens section of New York, said Officer George Jensen, a police spokesman.
Two groups of pupils told authorities they ran into a man on one of the school's stairwells and he allegedly sexually abused three of them, Jensen said. A third group said one of them was sexually abused by the man in another stairwell, Jensen said.
The children, who range in age from 6 to 8, were running errands for their teachers, such as taking the attendance sheets down to the main office.
The victims were taken to a hospital for observation.
Margie Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the Board of Education, said the assailant may have gained entry to the school when a side door was left ajar after a food delivery of candy was made. Feinberg said that door is always supposed to be locked.
