Winston Nguyen, a former math teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, New York, was charged and arrested in June 2024 for soliciting sexually explicit images of children. During Nguyen’s tenure at the private high school, he allegedly pretended to be a teenager on social media numerous times to entice teenage students to send him “images of nudity and sexual performances,” according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
It is alleged that Nguyen used two different Snapchat accounts to exchange messages with five girls and one boy between the ages of 13 and 15, between October 2022 and May 2024. The minors attended Saint Ann’s, Poly Prep Country Day School, Berkeley Carroll School, and Packer Collegiate Institute – all private schools in Brooklyn. Some of the charges against Nguyen include the use of a child in a sexual performance, promoting a sexual performance by a child, and disseminating indecent material to a minor.
Following Nguyen’s arrest in 2024, top administrators at Saint Ann’s school were exposed for knowingly hiring Nguyen even though he was a three-time felon. St. Ann’s leadership did not disclose Nguyen’s criminal history to the public because they wanted Nguyen to have a “second chance,” and “to be permitted to enter the Saint Ann’s community without preconceived judgments about his past.” Families, faculty, students, and community raised multiple concerns with St. Ann’s leadership regarding Nguyen’s criminal history, but nothing was done.
On March 3, 2025, Nguyen pleaded guilty to a felony and several misdemeanors after being charged with soliciting lewd images and videos from students. Nguyen will be sentenced later this month and faces a possible seven-year prison sentence.