A teacher was suspended on paid leave on Monday after he allegedly told his 11-year-old students that he raped his first wife . The teacher , who had not been named , was teaching the fifth grade at Hawthorne Elementary in Albuquerque , New Mexico , when he made the chilling remark around a week ago . Some students were so distressed by what they heard , that they immediately went to the school office to report the teacher , ABC7 reported . A male teacher reportedly told his fifth grade at Hawthorne Elementary in Albuquerque , New Mexico ( pictured ) that he raped his first wife . Mother Margie Brooks , whose son was in the class , told the local station that she was horrified by what the teacher told the students and felt the school waited too long to deal with the problem . She said : 'The minute that allegation was made by these kids I would have done something about it . ' Daily Mail Online was awaiting comment from the elementary school on Thursday . A spokesperson for Albuquerque Public Schools ( APS ) confirmed that a fifth-grade teacher , who had been full-time employee at the school since January , was suspended on paid leave on Monday . An internal investigation was taking place into the alleged employee misconduct with the APS police department . The teacher has worked in the school district since August last year . He subbed as a special education teacher at Taft Middle School in August . He then worked at Hayes Middle School as a maths and science teacher from October to January . Mother Margie Brooks , whose son was in the class , told the local station that she was horrified by what the teacher told the students and felt the school waited too long to deal with the problem .
The teacher was teaching the fifth grade at Hawthorne Elementary in Albuquerque , New Mexico . A student told her that she had been sexually assaulted by a classmate and wanted to report it but didn't want to go through with it. The teacher is on paid leave while the public school district and police investigate .