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Eric Paulino, 30, a middle school teacher at IS 93 in Ridgewood, admitted to using Venmo to download and trade child pornography on his phone, Donoghue said. He pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court and was released after posting a $250,000 bond.
Donoghue said that Paulino provided investigating FBI agents with his iPhone, and a password for the device. A search of the phone found “numerous images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.”
Investigators reportedly obtained the warrant to search Paulino’s home after learning that he allegedly used an alias online and made purchases from a “known purveyor of child pornography,” via Venmo.
“Paulino, while employed in a position of trust as a New York City school teacher, purchased child pornography on the Internet, contributing to the abuse and victimization of children,” Donoghue said. “Prosecuting those who feed the market for child pornography, whether producers or consumers, will always be a priority of this Office and our law enforcement partners.”
According to the New York Post, Paulino’s attorney made note that the educator is not accused of accessing any child pornography on school ground or having any inappropriate contact with any students.
“Teachers are trusted by parents to protect and educate their children, which makes the thought of a teacher allegedly downloading illegal child pornography all that more disturbing,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. “The FBI New York Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force works every day to stop predators from exploiting children, and further victimizing those exposed to hands on offenders who create images shared on the internet.”
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