The counseling director of the world-renowned Boys Choir of Harlem and its prestigious college-prep school was arrested yesterday and charged with fondling a 13-year-old boy.
Frank Jones Jr., 51, was charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor in an incident in the summer of 1999, authorities said.
Jones, who directs counseling services for the Choir Academy of Harlem on Madison Avenue, as well as the 35-member Boys Choir, was arrested at his apartment while he was preparing to go to work, sources said.
The charge came to light only recently, as the boy, now 15, disclosed details of the alleged abuse, sources said. According to the sources, the teenager told police Jones was giving him a massage and intentionally touched him on the buttocks. The sources said Jones claims the touch was accidental.
The school sponsors an annual Summer Music Institute, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the alleged incident occurred in that program or elsewhere.