A 37-year-old former math teacher has been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly enticing teenage students from four Brooklyn schools to send him explicit sexual images, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Thursday.
The defendant, Winston Nguyen, who previously taught at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, is accused of posing as a young teen on Snapchat to engage in sexually explicit conversations with students.
“A complicated investigation by detectives from my office revealed extremely disturbing conduct by this defendant, who allegedly posed as a peer to coax teenagers to send him sexually explicit images of themselves, which he then allegedly distributed,” Gonzalez said. “The fact that he was a teacher and a trusted figure among students makes these allegations even more troubling. We will now seek to hold him accountable and will continue to work diligently to protect children from sexual exploitation.”
Nguyen, who resides in Harlem, was arraigned on Thursday in Brooklyn Criminal Court. He faces charges including the use of a child in a sexual performance, promoting a sexual performance by a child, first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors, third-degree conspiracy, third-degree criminal solicitation and endangering the welfare of a child.
Bail was set at $30,000 cash or $75,000 bond, and he is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 17, 2024.
According to prosecutors, Nguyen allegedly presented himself as a young teen while conversing with children on Snapchat. He is charged with crimes against five girls and one boy who attended Saint Ann’s School, Poly Prep Country Day School, Berkeley Carroll School and The Packer Collegiate Institute. It is believed that Nguyen had similar online interactions with numerous other children.
The charged incidents, which took place between October 2022 and May 2024, include multiple video messages sent to a 14-year-old from an account called “hunterkristoff,” depicting a nude boy masturbating and subsequent requests for the child to send nude images or perform sexual acts. Investigators traced the boy in the videos to another state; he was 16 at the time.
The “hunterkristoff” account was allegedly used to engage in prolonged sexually explicit conversations and request nude images from four additional victims, aged 13 to 15. Another account, “haircutbongos,” was used to engage a 15-year-old in similar conversations and request explicit images, with Nguyen allegedly paying the victim for a video depicting a sexual act in May 2024. It is also alleged that Nguyen shared some of the explicit photos he received while chatting with other children.
The Snapchat accounts were traced back to IP addresses associated with Nguyen’s Harlem residence. The investigation also uncovered digital communications, images and accounts from victims as evidence.
