School aide guilty of sex assault

Gregory Keau worked at McKinley High and faces years in prison

City prosecutors plan to ask for the maximum term of 22 years in prison for a McKinley High School teacher's assistant who admitted to sexually assaulting a special education student.

Gregory Keau, 30, pleaded guilty yesterday to four counts of sex assault against the girl, starting when she was age 16.

Keau was arrested after his last assault of the girl in a McKinley classroom was interrupted by another school employee in May. The girl later told police that Keau had assaulted her several times, starting March 1, 2007.

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A McKinley High School teacher's assistant pleaded guilty yesterday to sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female special education student in a classroom earlier this year.

Gregory Keau, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.

Second-degree sexual assault is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Fourth-degree sexual assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison.

Deputy City Prosecutor Thalia Murphy said she intends to ask for the maximum sentence for each of the charges and that they run back-to-back for a 22-year prison term.

State Circuit Court Judge Michael Town will sentence him Oct. 1.

"You're taking the blame because it happened," Town asked Keau.

Keau responded, "Yes, sir."

He pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girl March 1, 2007, between March 1 and April 2, 2007, and on May 16.

Another school employee entered the classroom, interrupting the May 16 assault, police said.

The girl later told police Keau first sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old.

Keau remains in custody unable to post $75,000 bail.

Keau has previous convictions for third-degree assault and driving without a license.

Two years after he started working for the Department of Education in 2001, Keau pleaded guilty to misdemeanor third-degree assault in Family Court and was sentenced to one year's probation and six days in jail. He was allowed to serve the jail time on weekends.

Department officials have said they did not know about the previous case.

When the DOE hired Keau in 2001, he had just one criminal conviction on his record, for operating a vehicle without a driver's license, but the misdemeanor did not disqualify him from employment, according to the department.