Private School Teacher Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Revenge Porn Distribution to Students
A federal lawsuit has been filed against a private school mathematics teacher, alleging he sent 'revenge porn' images of teenage girls directly to his own students. The complaint, seen by the New York Times, names Winston Nguyen, 39, and presents disturbing claims about his conduct while employed at the elite Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn.
Allegations of Online Impersonation and Sexual Solicitation
The lawsuit states that Nguyen allegedly created a fake online persona, impersonating a teenage boy to build a Snapchat community. This network included students from Saint Ann's and other private schools in the New York City area. According to the legal filing, he used this platform to chat with girls under the age of 17, often while he was physically teaching in the classroom.
The communications reportedly grew increasingly explicit. The complaint details that Nguyen told one girl she 'made him horny' and he wanted 'a blowjob', while propositioning another for a threesome. He is alleged to have sent masturbation videos and persistently pressured multiple girls for explicit pictures, including images showing full-frontal nudity. This escalated to requests for videos of the girls 'engaged in sexual acts'.
Pressure and Social Coercion Cited in Complaint
The legal document suggests the girls felt compelled to comply with his demands. 'The girls felt pressure to comply because they perceived Nguyen to be a peer in their social circles with significant social clout given his account's large network of Saint Ann's connections,' the complaint reads. The victims were reportedly 13 years old when Nguyen first contacted them and were not students at Saint Ann's at the time.
When the girls eventually severed contact, the lawsuit claims Nguyen began sharing their nude photographs with other students in an act of revenge, leading to the 'revenge porn' allegations.
School's Knowledge and Controversial Hiring Decision
The lawsuit further alleges that Saint Ann's School administration was aware of the revenge porn circulating among students and knew of Nguyen's history of misconduct but failed to report the incidents to the police. This claim adds a significant layer of institutional failure to the case.
The school's decision to hire Nguyen has come under intense scrutiny. Court documents revealed he was given a position as an administrative aide in 2020, just one year after being convicted of felony fraud for stealing over $300,000 from an elderly couple while working as their home health support.
Maureen 'Mo' Yusuf-Morales, the Head of the Upper Middle School and an experienced DEI trainer, reportedly advocated for giving him a second chance despite his criminal record. The New York Times notes that at least one school leader strongly opposed the hire. Nevertheless, Nguyen was employed and later promoted to a mathematics teaching role by 2021.
Parental Concerns Dismissed and Subsequent Arrest
Parents were not informed of Nguyen's criminal background, though students discovered news articles about his fraud conviction online. When concerns were raised with the school, parents say they were dismissed. In October 2021, Head of School Vince Tompkins sent an email assuring families, 'as with any teacher we hire, we are confident in Winston's ability and fitness to educate and care for our students.'
Multiple parents and witnesses later reported fearing they would be labelled 'racist' or 'not progressive enough' if they raised substantive concerns about a person of colour. By 2022, students from Saint Ann's and other Brooklyn private schools began reporting receiving solicitations for inappropriate photos and videos via Snapchat, with some targets as young as 13.
The District Attorney's office alerted Saint Ann's to an investigation into the anonymous account in February 2024, but parents were not notified. Nguyen, a former Jeopardy champion in 2014, was ultimately arrested in June 2024 and charged with a litany of offences. He had been sentenced the previous year to seven years in jail after pleading guilty to using a child in a sexual performance and five misdemeanours, related to earlier conduct.
Reputational Damage for Elite Institution
The scandal has sent the prestigious prep school, which charges $60,000 annually in tuition and counts celebrities like Lena Dunham and Jennifer Connelly among its alumni, into a public relations crisis. Saint Ann's, known for its unorthodox teaching methods and reputation as a top school for wealthy creative students, now faces serious questions about its safeguarding protocols and hiring practices. The lawsuit alleges the school was 'humiliated' by the court revelations surrounding Nguyen's second chance and subsequent arrest.
