GYM TEACH AND SCHOOL ARE SUED IN MOLEST RAP

THE PARENTS of a 12-year-old girl who was sexually abused by her gym teacher charged her Staten Island school refused to hand over her report card because they owed about $300 in tuition.

The report card incident was revealed in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court against the Archdiocese of New York and Lynn Saunders, the gym teacher at St. Paul's Catholic School. The suit claims the archdiocese ignored warnings that Saunders was acting inappropriately with students.

Saunders pleaded guilty to sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child last year and was sentenced to six years' probation. She was also fired and required to register as a sex offender.

The father of the young victim, whose name is being withheld by the Daily News, was devastated yesterday as he talked about the suffering of his daughter, who is now enrolled at a public school.

"She is having a very hard time. Her grades have fallen dramatically," the dad said.

He said the family was furious over the withholding of the report card.

Family lawyer William Unroch said in court papers that the school principal had been warned by other teachers that Saunders was emotionally immature and was allowing girls to hang out with her in the gym when they should have been in class.

A spokesman for the archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, said the school had no prior knowledge of any inappropriate behavior by Saunders and fired her after the charges surfaced.