Alleged victims in Mineola have circulated a petition to remove a middle school teacher they say sexually assaulted them.

The petition has garnered thousands of signatures, calling for the removal of the Mineola Middle School science teacher.

A young woman named Lee Langston started the petition Tuesday, claiming, "I along with many other girls have been a victim of sexual assault from a teacher in Mineola Middle School."

She goes on to describe a bed of nails that she says the teacher had in his classroom. She says during lunch, "Girls and boys were asked to sit on his stomach, legs, waist, and even his face to see if we could 'pin him down.' If we were able to he would buy us food ... we all thought the bed of nails was really cool so we never thought anything of it."

Lex Gorring, now 18 years old, says he had the teacher as well. He says he never took part in the alleged activities, but remembers kids talking about it back then.

"Kids talked about it being weird but everything's been coming out now," says Gorring. "No one really thought of it like that until now."

One person posted on the petition, "I experienced all of these horrible acts firsthand when he was my seventh grade science teacher eight years ago. At that age I was unable to understand how wrong this teachers actions were."

Another person added, "Every free period we'd be in the main office trying to explain to somebody how much of a creep he was. Half the grade complained and nothing was done."

The superintendent released a statement Wednesday, that says they are aware of allegations against a teacher, and, "While we unfortunately cannot offer more details due to privacy constraints, we can share that the teacher was immediately removed from the classroom and a full investigation is being conducted."

If you believe you were a victim, you can file a report to the DA's office's Special Victims Bureau at 516-465-4781.