Ex-hooker-turned-art teacher speaks out about her past

A woman in the US, who is a former hooker and stripper, and who has been teaching art in a Bronx elementary school for three years, has publicly spoken out about her past.

Melissa Petro, 30, who calls herself a "former sex worker", has been very open about her past, posting online accounts of her sexcapades in Mexico and London.

And in an essay she posted this month she has gone so far as to claim that she had also been a prostitute.

"From October 2006 to January 2007, I accepted money in exchange for sexual services I provided to men I met online in what was then called the "erotic services" section of Craigslist.org," the New York Post quoted Petro as writing on the Huffington Post.

The attached bio identifies Petro, who has an MFA in creative non-fiction from The New School, as a "former sex worker, researcher, writer, educator, and feminist".

She had managed to keep her past a secret from parents at PS 70, but her revelation has now left them stunned, and some have even said that she should not be allowed to be near children.

Principal Kerry Castellano referred questions to the Department of Education's press office, which said Petro had been reassigned to administrative duties pending an investigation

Petro, who earns $61,000 a year, revealed that a co-worker had warned her that some of her colleagues were beginning to Google her.

"There have been lots of rumours going around about her for a while now. I wouldn't want my kid to be in a school where she is," said one school worker.