Driving instructor committed lewd act during lesson with teen student, Suffolk police say

A 16-year-old girl reported seeing her driving instructor commit a lewd act during a lesson, the Suffolk County police department said Saturday, announcing his arrest.

Jeffrey Hinch, 29, of Bay Shore, has been charged with public lewdness and endangering the welfare of a child, the police said in a news release. The charges are misdemeanors, court records show.

Hinch, who works for the East Meadow Driving School in Levittown, had picked the student up from her home in Huntington on Tuesday, and it was during that session that he allegedly committed the lewd act, the police said.

"The victim was then returned to her residence without further incident," the police said.

At arraignment Saturday in Suffolk First District Court, Hinch was freed without bail, with the case due back at court Aug. 16, according to court records.

His attorney, Albert E. Norato Jr. of East Patchogue, said in a phone call that a not-guilty plea was entered for his client and a stay-away order of protection issued for the accuser. Norato declined to comment on the allegations.

A voicemail left for the driving school was not immediately returned.