A Brooklyn high school teacher was charged Wednesday after allegedly producing child porn and “targeting” hundreds of minors for sexual exploitation via Facebook.
“An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Jonathan Deutsch, a teacher at Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences, with five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, according to a Justice Department statement. “The charges relate to sexually explicit images and videos of children that the defendant allegedly requested and received from minors who he targeted on Facebook.”
Deutsch, 34, allegedly targeted Facebook users who “appeared to be minors” based on their Facebook profiles, and developed relationships with them. He used his status as a teacher to gain their trust and “groom” the minors for “sexual exploitation.”
“Deutsch contacted hundreds of apparent minors on Facebook and had communications of a sexual nature with at least 45 of them,” the statement said. “Deutsch requested and received sexually explicit images or videos from at least four minors, whom the FBI has identified. Those victims range in age from 10 to 16 years old.”
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced the charges with a high-ranking New York FBI agent who was involved with the investigation.
“The protection of innocent children is an utmost priority for this Office and our law enforcement partners,” Donoghue said. “We will continue to make every effort to ensure that those who contribute to the exploitation and victimization of children will be brought to justice.”
If convicted on any one the charges, Deutsch will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.