Latest news with #AtlanticActingSchool
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-NYC acting teacher distributed more than 1,500 child porn images — including of infants and toddlers: feds
A former Big Apple acting teacher allegedly passed around a disturbing trove of child porn with over a thousand files – including images depicting the sexual abuse of toddlers and infants – over a short few months, according to federal prosecutors. Actor and dancer Samuel Gonzalez, 31, was arrested Monday, more than two years after he first made contact with an undercover federal agent and began sharing the sickening content, a criminal complaint alleged. The Brooklyn resident allegedly used an online messaging app to send the covert investigator links that contained more than 1,500 files of child porn between January and April of 2023, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Later that year, the feds seized a slew of his electronic devices, including his cell phone and laptop, which allegedly held 18 videos and 69 photos of child pornography. Some files showed infants as young as just a few months old, the feds said. 'As alleged, Samuel Gonzalez distributed a large volume of child pornography, including images of sexual abuse of children as young as a few months old,' Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. 'The lasting scars from the horrific abuse of children are deeply troubling to all New Yorkers. Together with our partners, we will relentlessly pursue those who victimize children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.' Gonzalez previously taught at the Atlantic Acting School in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, but hasn't since May 2021 and is no longer connected to the institution, a school spokesperson said in an email. He was charged with a count each of distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. If convicted on the charges, he could face decades in prison. 'Samuel Gonzalez allegedly distributed thousands of pornographic images of infants and minors to an undercover federal agent over a brief period,' FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia said in a statement. 'Gonzalez's alleged actions grossly disregarded the victims' welfare and repeatedly violated their privacy by sharing this twisted material.' Gonzalez hung up when a Post reporter inquired about the charges against him Monday night. A phone call and email to his public defender were also not returned. He was released from custody after his arraignment Monday, a US Attorney's spokesperson said.
New York Post
29-04-2025
- New York Post
Ex-NYC acting teacher distributed more than 1,500 child porn images — including of infants and toddlers: feds
A former Big Apple acting teacher allegedly passed around a disturbing trove of child porn with over a thousand files – including images depicting the sexual abuse of toddlers and infants – over a short few months, according to federal prosecutors. Actor and dancer Samuel Gonzalez, 31, was arrested Monday, more than two years after he first made contact with an undercover federal agent and began sharing the sickening content, a criminal complaint alleged. The Brooklyn resident allegedly used an online messaging app to send the covert investigator links that contained more than 1,500 files of child porn between January and April of 2023, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton vowed to pursue people who victimize children. REUTERS Later that year, the feds seized a slew of his electronic devices, including his cell phone and laptop, which allegedly held 18 videos and 69 photos of child pornography. Some files showed infants as young as just a few months old, the feds said. 'As alleged, Samuel Gonzalez distributed a large volume of child pornography, including images of sexual abuse of children as young as a few months old,' Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. 'The lasting scars from the horrific abuse of children are deeply troubling to all New Yorkers. Together with our partners, we will relentlessly pursue those who victimize children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.' Gonzalez previously taught at the Atlantic Acting School in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, but hasn't since May 2021 and is no longer connected to the institution, a school spokesperson said in an email. Gonzalez was charged Monday. Getty Images/iStockphoto He was charged with a count each of distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. If convicted on the charges, he could face decades in prison. 'Samuel Gonzalez allegedly distributed thousands of pornographic images of infants and minors to an undercover federal agent over a brief period,' FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia said in a statement. 'Gonzalez's alleged actions grossly disregarded the victims' welfare and repeatedly violated their privacy by sharing this twisted material.' Gonzalez hung up when a Post reporter inquired about the charges against him Monday night. A phone call and email to his public defender were also not returned. He was released from custody after his arraignment Monday, a US Attorney's spokesperson said.
Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Local actor's star on the rise in NYC
Fresh from graduating from the prestigious Atlantic Acting School, a Timaru-born actor has made her off-Broadway debut as part of the Soho Playhouse Lighthouse Series. In 2024, Kate Low returned to New Zealand during a summer break to tour the one-woman show How to Build a Gate by Electra Carzis and upon returning to New York had always been eager to bring the play to American audiences. It has now been selected to take part in the Soho Playhouse Lighthouse Series. The series is a competition-style festival aimed at showcasing emerging talent and new works in New York City. Out of hundreds of applicants, only 15 shows are selected for the first round. Each show is paired with two others over a weekend, audiences vote for their favourite and the winner of each group advances to the second round in July, when the winner is awarded a six-week residency in Soho Playhouse's main programme for 2026. Low said it was it was incredibly exciting to have had the play accepted. "We applied knowing it was a bit of a long shot as hundreds of people apply to this series. "It was very much one of those 'well, we will just send it and see what happens' applications. "We didn't have any expectation of anything really coming out of it. "We got the news and we were completely thrilled, then immediately got to work as we had a two week turnaround to put it up again." She said having the chance to make her off-broadway debut at the iconic Soho Playhouse was a dream come true. "The theatre has an incredible history and to be making it with the work of a very good friend makes it even more special. "In the '60s playwright Edward Albee [Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Goat] took over the space and used it as an incubator and performance house which fostered playwrights like Sam Shephard, Leroi Jones and Lanford Wilson. "I actually worked on The Goat as one of my final projects for school, so it feels weirdly serendipitous to be performing in this space just after finishing school." A few changes had to be made to the production to take part in the series, she said. "The show went through a bit of a development season when we were accepted into the first festival. It premiered at in New York — the Spark Emerging Artist Festival in March. "We sat down and did a read through of the script that was performed in New Zealand and broke down what worked within that script." She said Electra Artemis and Zora Squish Pruitt, the play's incredible writer and their dramaturg, reworked the script. "What turned the show on its head a bit was the acceptance into the Lighthouse Series meant the script had to be shortened to a 25-minute piece. "We could chose to do an excerpt from the 70-minute show, or frankenstein the script so it told a very similar story to the full show but in 25 minutes. "Electra and Squish went to work on it again and did an incredible job of cutting the show into a tight 25-minute show, while maintaining the essence and comedy of the story being told." She said it had been affirming to see the foundation she had been building at Atlantic for so many years came into fruition this way. "It is also just further affirmation that surrounding yourself with other incredibly talented, driven artists who have a love and passion for this work is a great way to go about growing and progressing in the industry. "I am so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by an amazing team to make this happen and we are so fortunate to have festivals like the Soho Playhouse Lighthouse series and the Emerging Artists Festival give up and coming artists in the city the opportunity to put up their work." She said the industry was tough and filled with high highs and low lows to navigate. "A lot of it is work that goes unseen: constantly applying for things, going to open calls, auditions, self tapes, lots of no's, networking, and just keeping yourself fit and ready for when you do book the job. "Whenever there is a win like this it is reassuring but also just incredibly exciting to get the opportunity to do the thing that we as actors are putting in all the hours behind the scenes for — to tell a story."
