Latest news with #WinstonNguyen
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
NYC kids catfished for lewd images by ex-‘Jeopardy!' champ share devastating details at his sentencing: ‘Ruined my life'
Brooklyn students fooled into sending nude images to an ex-'Jeopardy!' champ teacher were 'ruined' by the catfishing scheme, according to victim statements read at his sentencing on Wednesday. Former private school math teacher and TV trivia whiz Winston Nguyen, 38, will spend the next seven years in prison as punishment for his crimes after statements were read from his ashamed victims who revealed how he preyed on their innocence and trust. 'You took advantage of me when I was at a mental low,' one victim wrote in an impact statement read aloud to the courtroom. 'You gave me the validation my young, impressionable mind needed. You used this to manipulate me into sending you explicit photographs of myself.' Nguyen stood in court during the proceeding wearing a beige prison jumpsuit and a brand-new black eye — which his lawyer, Franklin Rothman, later said was the product of a jail assault that forced the disgraced trivia nerd into protective custody. 'I knew in my head it was wrong, and I should not have been doing it,' the victim statement continued. 'But it was the only love my looks had ever received, and I was afraid of losing it. 'Now, every time I look at myself, I think of you,' she wrote. 'I think of all the inappropriate things you said about my body. You sent these images to countless people … I do not know who knows and I feel like at any moment, people are going to find out the girl who sent nudes to the teacher was me.' 'The truth is, there's never anything you can do to fix this. You ruined my life, broke my ability to trust.' Nguyen, who taught at the swanky Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn Heights, landed in hot water for posing as a teenage boy on Snapchat and taking part in hundreds of sexual chats with kids as young as 13-years old. Prosecutors said Nguyen victimized at least six kids who attended a cadre of four Brooklyn private schools — including Saint Ann's. The disturbing actions — which authorities said happened between October 2022 and May 2024 — led to a 30-count indictment that compelled Nguyen to surrender to the authorities last July. 'I deeply regret my actions,' Nguyen said during the hearing. 'Especially to a community that had gone out of its way to support me, giving me a second chance. As a teacher, my job was to protect students, and instead, I acted selfishly. 'I know my words today might be unsatisfying,' he said, adding that he would talk to 'any families [who] wanted to have any conversations for closure.' 'I truly want them to know that I'm sorry.' His apology rang hollow to another unidentified victim whose statement was also read in court — with the person writing that Nguyen 'begged for sexually explicit images of me to the point where I felt trapped.' 'As a young child, with very little experience with any boys, I didn't know what to do,' the victim wrote, adding Nguyen 'wouldn't take no for an answer.' 'I was naive and insecure, you used my adolescence to manipulate me,' the victim said. 'When I found out, I was horrified. You had saved and stored 80 pictures of me and sent them to other children. I was taken advantage of, exposed and humiliated by you. 'You've done far more than make bad decisions — [you] deeply hurt my friends and my family, and your actions will scar me for the rest of my life.' Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called Nguyen's actions a 'sickening betrayal of trust by a schoolteacher.' 'Today's sentencing holds him accountable for his actions while sparing the young and vulnerable victims from having to relive this emotional abuse in court,' Gonzalez said in a statement. 'I commend the prosecutors and investigators who brought this defendant to justice, and the young survivors who bravely stepped forward.' Nguyen — who pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child — will also register as a sex offender and serve 10 years of supervised release. He also has an eye-popping rap sheet that included stealing more than $300,000 from an elderly couple who hired him as a home health aide — an act that landed him in jail for four months in 2019.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Teen victims recount how Brooklyn teacher ‘ruined' their lives before he gets 7 years for enticing students to send nudes
The teen victims of a former Brooklyn private school teacher recounted in court Wednesday how he ruined their lives, left them 'sick with guilt and anger' and shattered their ability to trust other people when he fooled them into sending him nude photos. Former St. Ann's School teacher Winston Nguyen, a former winner on 'Jeopardy!,' was forced to hear the impact statements from two of his young victims before a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge ordered him locked away for seven years Wednesday. 'Knowing is not enough. I hope you're haunted by the pain you've caused me and the people around you every single day,' said one victim in a statement read by assistant D.A. Daniel Newcombe in Brooklyn Supreme Court Wednesday. Another victim said she opened up to Nguyen, but his actions left her 'sick with guilt and anger' not knowing how many people have seen the photos of herself she sent to him. 'If you really cared, you would not have ruined my life. You would not have preyed on me when I was weak,' the victim said in a written statement. 'People have been slut-shaming me to my face without knowing it was me… My closest friends have laughed about it and I have had to sit there and force a smile.' She added, 'People who I do not know will judge me. I will always be the girl who sent nudes to the teacher. … I don't know how many photographs are out there, or if they even have my face.' Nguyen, 38, got a job at St. Ann's School in Brooklyn Heights in 2020 despite spending time in jail for a six-figure fraud scheme — and he burned that second chance by posing as a teen to entice five girls and one boy on Snapchat from October 2022 to May 2024. Nguyen used the screen name 'hunterkristoff' to send a video depicting a nude boy masturbating to a 14-year-old victim, then asked the teen to send nude or sexual images. He communicated with four more victims, aged 13 to 15, from that account, and targeted a sixth victim, age 15, from an account named 'haircutbongos.' That last victim performed a sex act on video for Nguyen in exchange for money, prosecutors said. The teens attended St. Ann's School, Poly Prep Country Day School, Berkeley Carroll School and Packer Collegiate Institute. Nguyen, who won $10,000 on 'Jeopardy' in 2014, was arrested three years later on charges he swindled a couple in their 90s out of $335,000 by writing checks in their names and using their accounts and credit cards while working as a home health aide. He pleaded guilty to grand larceny and other charges in 2019, and served four months in jail. Even so, he managed to get a job interview at St. Ann's in August 2020, after his longtime-friend and the then-head of the upper middle school vouched for him, according to an outside investigative report commissioned by the school. School administrators didn't share his criminal record with students' families and other teachers, and when his students found out on their own, he told them he 'committed his crimes because he felt the need to buy things for his friends in order to be liked by them,' according to the report. Some students upset by his record were 'shamed' for not supporting restorative justice or for spreading rumors, according to the report. 'I deeply regret my actions and the harm I have caused especially to the community that has gone out of its way to support me,' Nguyen said before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Phillip Tisne imposed sentence. 'The pain I caused to the victims and their families weigh heavily on me. … I truly want them to know I am sorry for what I've done.' His sentence was part of a plea deal negotiated by the Brooklyn DA's office and his defense lawyer. He pleaded guilty earlier this month to use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child. As part of his plea deal, Nguyen must also serve 10 years on supervised release and register as a sex offender.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Former teacher in NYC sentenced after admitting to soliciting sexual images from children
NEW YORK (AP) — A former math teacher at an upscale private school in Brooklyn was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison on charges that he posed as a teenager on Snapchat to solicit nude images and sexual videos from children. Winston Nguyen, 38, had pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He will have to register as a sex offender after his release. Prosecutors said Nguyen, who taught at Saint Ann's School in the tony Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, pretended to be a teenage boy on Snapchat and himself send nude images and videos to children and got the children to send illicit material back to him. The children, who went to various schools in the city, were between the ages of 13 and 15 when the messaging occurred. 'This was a sickening betrayal of trust by a schoolteacher who solicited students into sending him graphic and nude photos," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. In an email, Nguyen's attorney, Frank Rothman, said his client 'expressed true regret for his actions today and offered to engage in whatever restorative type healing process that the families of the students may suggest. But he understands that most likely it would not happen.'
Associated Press
19-03-2025
- Associated Press
Former teacher in NYC sentenced after admitting to soliciting sexual images from children
NEW YORK (AP) — A former math teacher at an upscale private school in Brooklyn was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison on charges that he posed as a teenager on Snapchat to solicit nude images and sexual videos from children. Winston Nguyen, 38, had pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He will have to register as a sex offender after his release. Prosecutors said Nguyen, who taught at Saint Ann's School in the tony Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, pretended to be a teenage boy on Snapchat and himself send nude images and videos to children and got the children to send illicit material back to him. The children, who went to various schools in the city, were between the ages of 13 and 15 when the messaging occurred. 'This was a sickening betrayal of trust by a schoolteacher who solicited students into sending him graphic and nude photos,' Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. In an email, Nguyen's attorney, Frank Rothman, said his client 'expressed true regret for his actions today and offered to engage in whatever restorative type healing process that the families of the students may suggest. But he understands that most likely it would not happen.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Yahoo
‘Jeopardy' winner and Brooklyn private school teacher admits he enticed teens into sending nudes
NEW YORK — A former 'Jeopardy' winner and math teacher at a posh Brooklyn private school pleaded guilty Monday in exchange for a seven-year sentence to charges he posed as a teen and enticed students to send him nudes on social media. The elite St. Ann's School in Brooklyn Heights first hired Winston Nguyen, 38, in August 2020 to fill a 'classroom assistant' role handling COVID-related remote learning issues, despite his conviction the prior year on fraud charges. He started teaching math full time in 2021. His creepy catfishing scheme began the next year, and from October 2022 to May 2024, he used Snapchat to chat up at least five girls and one boy in at least 11 separate incidents. The victims were students at Saint Ann's School, Poly Prep Country Day School, Berkeley Carroll School and Packer Collegiate Institute. Nguyen pleaded guilty before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Philip Tisne to a single count of use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child. As part of his plea deal, he must also serve 10 years on supervised release and register as a sex offender. He was cuffed after his guilty plea and ordered held without bail, and is slated to be sentenced March 17. 'There was really never an issue about whether or not he had to plea guilty,' said his lawyer, Franklin Rothman said. 'There's very little defense one can proffer when you have images on your phone … It was never an issue of him denying responsibility.' Rothman said he expects Nguyen will apologize to his victims and to the people who trusted him when he's sentenced in two weeks. Nguyen used the account name 'hunterkristoff' to send a video depicting a nude boy masturbating to a 14-year-old, then asked the teen to send nude or sexual images. He communicated with four more victims, aged 13 to 15, from that account. Nguyen communicated with a sixth victim, age 15, from an account named 'haircutbongos,' and in May 2024, the teen performed a sex act on video for Nguyen in exchange for money, prosecutors said. Several students at St. Ann's reported falling prey to catfishing schemes starting in February 2024, and the school contacted authorities, but school leadership didn't learn of Nguyen's involvement until his arrest in June, according to an investigative report commissioned by the school. Investigators tied the two accounts to IP addresses connected to Nguyen's Harlem home, and the Brooklyn D.A.'s office charged him on a criminal complaint in June. Nguyen, who won $10,000 on 'Jeopardy' in 2014, was arrested three years later on charges he swindled a couple in their 90s out of $335,000 by writing checks in their names and using their accounts and credit cards while working as a home health aide. One of the victims, who was blind, blasted Nguyen as a 'terrible person' in a 2017 interview with the Daily News. He pleaded guilty to grand larceny and other charges in 2019, and served four months in jail. The then-head of the upper middle school at St. Ann's, Maureen Yusuf-Morales, a longtime friend of Nguyen, got him a job interview in August 2020, vouching for him and assuring the then-dean of faculty Melissa Kantor that he had reformed, according to the 39-page investigative report. The school hired him before his background check was completed, and even after they got the results, administrators kept him on staff and didn't share his criminal record with students' families and other teachers, the report found. When students found out on their own by looking him up on the internet and confronting him in class in October 2021, he told them he 'committed his crimes because he felt the need to buy things for his friends in order to be liked by them,' according to the report. A number of students upset with the revelations were 'shamed' by Yusuf-Morales for not supporting restorative justice or for spreading rumors, according to the report. 'Today's plea holds this defendant responsible for his disturbing and predatory conduct while sparing young and vulnerable victims from ever having to testify about their traumatic experiences,' Brooklyn D.A. Eric Gonzalez said Monday. 'This kind of exploitation of children, made even more distressing by the fact that the defendant was a trusted school figure, will never be tolerated in Brooklyn and we will continue to expose and root it out.
