NEW YORK – A New York middle school teacher who sent a student hundreds of lovey text messages and showered him with gifts will remain on the district’s payroll despite efforts to end his employment.

A 14-year-old male student at Irwin Altman MS 172 in Floral Park told investigators teacher James Rampulla Jr., 44, allowed him to drive the teacher’s car on numerous occasions, bought him expensive jeans, sneakers, and video games, and sent more than 500 text messages to the student, many in the late evening hours, the New York Post reports.

“The boy also told investigators that Rampulla, while they both worked at World of Discovery Summer Camp in Bayside, once put a hand on his thigh, and let him watch pornography in his apartment, according to a report by Richard Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools,” the Post reports. “Rampulla denied those allegations.”

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He couldn’t deny the text messages he sent to the student, however.

“They match those fancy jeans I got u. They look good on u im sure. Anything looks good on u bud,” one text read.

“if you play tomorrow I will sneak to you the money for the sneakers,” another read, according to the Post.

“Hopefully I cu tomorrow nt at ball. Lobe (sic) u bud so much Uncle Jimmy,” the teacher wrote in another text.

School officials submitted a request to terminate the tenured Rampulla for sexual misconduct, but city hearing officer Mary J. O’Donnell found the teacher guilty of misconduct after an eight-day trial, but did not find enough evidence to determine whether the teacher’s behavior was “paternal, familial or sexual,” the Post reports.

As a result, O’Donnell ruled that Rampulla’s actions did not warrant termination, and instead suspended the teacher without pay for the first half of the 2014-15 school year, which means he can return to the classroom this winter.

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The case highlights how educators who groom students for sexual purposes are often given a slap on the wrist under the current system, which clearly favors adult abusers over the child victims. In school districts across the country, educators are sexually abusing students every day with little to no punishment for their actions because union employment rules make it nearly impossible to terminate tenured teachers.

MS 172 Principal Jeffrey Slivko said he moved to fire Rampulla because he “demonstrated poor judgment and violated his trust, and that of the parents and students,” though the city department of education doesn’t plan on appealing the arbitrator’s ruling, the Post reports.

“Rampulla, who makes $86,590 a year, will join a pool of teachers without permanent assignments who work as substitutes, a (DOE) spokesman said,” according to the news site.

School officials launched an investigation into the teacher’s behavior after the teen victim’s father learned of several expensive gifts his son received from Rampulla, including “at least $200, Air Jordan sneakers, True Religion jeans and a Wii video-game console,” the Post reports.

“The boy told investigators he met Rampulla at MS 172, when the teacher, also a school coach, stopped him in the hall and urged him to join a sports team. In the summer of 2012, the boy and two other students got jobs at World of Discovery, where Rampulla is an assistant transportation director,” according to the news site.

“The 14-year-old told pro0bers that Rampulla let him drive his care seven or eight times to run lunch errands. In the trial, he testified that Rampulla let him drive to Long Island amusement park Adventureland – a highway trip that took 45 minutes to an hour – as well as a Chinese restaurant, Modell’s, the Roosevelt Field mall, the move theater and an American Eagle store. O’Donnel found the allegations of long excursions and highway driving not credible.”

The arbitrator, however, did find that “Uncle Jimmy” – as the teacher called himself – let other students drive his car, and drove the victim home but dropped him off down the street to keep the student’s parents from finding out.

The worst part is the World of Discovery camp didn’t learn of the teacher’s behavior until September 2013, which means Rampulla’s obviously inappropriate behavior went unnoticed by program officials.

A World of Discovery spokesperson told the Post Rampulla has since been transferred to another position where he doesn’t have any contact with students.