Sandy Carazas-Pinez, a 34 year-old former high school teacher in Yonkers, was arrested on July 12th on charges of enticing a minor victim to engage in illegal sexual activity and production of child pornography.
The charges were announced by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christie M. Curtis, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The allegations
While employed as a teacher at a the Biondi School in Yonkers, Carazas-Pinez allegedly enticed a 16-year-old student into engaging in sexual activities with her. Furthermore, she coerced the same student into participating in live-streamed sexually explicit conduct during video calls. Carazas-Pinez also sent sexually suggestive photographs of herself along with explicit text messages to the victim. She then instructed the minor to delete them afterward.
To facilitate their encounters outside of school, Carazas-Pinez directed the victim to obtain day passes from the school. This enabled them to leave campus unnoticed. The indictment further alleges that the teacher met the victim near the school’s campus and drove them to different locations. At each they engaged in sexual activities with the minor in her car on multiple occasions.
Carazas-Pinez’s arrest took place in the morning on Wednesday July 12th. Soon after, Williams emphasized his commitment to pursue sexual predators abusing the trust of children in their care. He stated, “Today’s indictment makes clear that my Office will continue to tirelessly pursue sexual predators of all forms…and hold them accountable to the fullest extent under the law.”
The charges
Carazas-Pinez faces charges of enticing a minor victim to engage in illegal sexual activity and production of child pornography. The enticement charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison to a maximum of life imprisonment. The pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to a maximum of 30 years.
The accused appeared in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan.
The FBI-NYPD New York Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, along with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), aided in the investigation. Assistance was also provided by the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, and the Yonkers Police Department.
Teachers are entrusted to protect children under their supervision, not bring them harm[…] The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to bring justice to those who prey upon our youth.
Christie M. Curtis – FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge
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