Former "Jeopardy!" contestant Winston Nguyen has been arrested and charged with soliciting sexually explicit images of children.
According to a press release from Brooklyn's District Attorney's Office, the former math teacher at St. Ann's School in Brooklyn, New York, was charged on Thursday with use of a child in sexual performance, promoting a sexual performance by a child as sexually motivated felonies and allegedly enticing or trying to entice teenage students from four Brooklyn schools to send him images of nudity and sexual performances.
The 37-year-old - who was featured on two episodes of the game show in 2014 - allegedly pretended to be a young teen and fellow student when engaging in conversations of a sexual nature over Snapchat.
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"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," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in the release. "The fact that he was a teacher and a trusted figure among students make 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."
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Bail was set at $30,000 cash or $75,000 bond, and the defendant was ordered to return to court on Oct. 17, 2024.
Nguyen has been charged with crimes against five girls and one boy who went to the independent Brooklyn schools Saint Ann’s School, Poly Prep Country Day School, Berkeley Carroll School and Packer Collegiate Institute. The interactions allegedly took place between October 2022 and May 2024.
Kenyatte Reid, the head of school at Saint Ann’s, told The New York Times that Nguyen’s behavior was "deplorable and a deep violation of the trust we extended to him as a member of our community."
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"It is our role and responsibility as educators to create an environment in which our students are safe and supported, and these alleged actions are antithetical to our work and our mission."
Nguyen was previously charged with stealing more than $300,000 from an elderly couple in 2018, according to the New York Post. He spent five months in prison after pleading guilty.
