Sicko ‘Jeopardy!’ champ, teacher at posh NYC private school catfished multiple students, lured them into sending X-rated photos: DA
An ex-con “Jeopardy!” winner hired to teach at an elite Brooklyn private school catfished kids and fooled them into sending him X-rated photos of themselves, prosecutors revealed Thursday.
A 30-count criminal complaint laid bare the depths of the alleged depravity of Winston Nguyen, who was dramatically arrested in front of his students last month and initially released without charges as the investigation continued.
Nguyen, 37, turned himself in Thursday morning to face accusations that he posted as a teenager on Snapchat and engaged in hundreds of sexualized chats with kids as young as 13, trolling them for nudes and videos of sexual performances.
Nguyen victimized at least six youngsters, five girls and one boy between 13 and 15, who attended a posh cluster of Brooklyn private schools: Berkeley Carroll School, Packer Collegiate Institute, Poly Prep Country Day School and his employer, Saint Ann’s School, prosecutors said.
“He elicited from those minors photographs sent to him in various forms of nudity,” Assistant District Attorney Daniel Brian Newcombe said in Brooklyn Criminal Court Thursday.
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Nguyen stayed silent, staring straight ahead as he left court and faced a barrage of questions from reporters following his arraignment, where a judge set his bail at $30,000.
He faces charges of use of a child in a sexual performance and promoting a sexual performance, among other felonies.
The alleged catfishing spree unfolded from October 2022 to May, during which time Nguyen used his teenager ruse at least 11 times via two Snapchat accounts under the names “hunterkristoff” and “haircutbongos,” prosecutors said.
Nguyen allegedly had similar predatory online interactions with several other children, officials said.
Law-enforcement sources said he’s believed to have contacted hundreds of teens, but it’s unclear if all were private school kids in the city.
Investigators found no evidence the Saint Ann’s victim was a student of Nguyen, nor did it appear he met the teens face-to-face, the sources said.
Instead, Nguyen allegedly lured the teens into sending him nude or sexually graphic images as he pretended to be a teen on Snapchat, Newcombe said in court.
He also shared some of the sickening child porn he obtained with other victims, officials said.
In one case, Nguyen offered to pay a 15-year-old who sent him a video of them performing a sexual act in May, the most recent incident detailed in the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors said he also sent a 14-year-old a sexually explicit video of a nude boy, whom investigators tracked to another state and found he was 16 years old.
Images of several minors were found during a search of Nguyen’s phone, sources said. The two Snapchat accounts were linked to internet networks near Nguyen’s Harlem apartment, prosecutors said.
Investigators are looking into whether Nguyen contacted teens outside of New York City, the sources said.
Representatives from all four private schools didn’t return The Post’s requests for comment.
The charges came more than a month after authorities arrested Nguyen in front of a crowd of students at the elite Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, where he taught math to students whose parents pay upward of $60,000 a year in tuition.
The pre-K-to-12 school boasts famous alumni such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jennifer Connelly, Lena Dunham and Maya Hawke.
Nguyen was sprung loose as investigators with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office pulled together evidence from his devices – a probe that ultimately led to his charges.
“We always expected this day to come,” Nguyen’s attorney, Frank Rothman told The Post on Thursday, saying he’d been in touch with prosecutors since Nguyen’s original arrest in June.
Rothman in court called the accusations “quite disturbing.”
But he successfully asked Judge Michael Pinto for a bail package lower than the $50,000 sought by prosecutors, arguing Nguyen surrendered and cooperated with the investigation.
Nguyen, who was dressed in a white shirt, black jacket, blue pants and Adidas shoes, is due back in court Oct. 17.
The criminal complaint will go to a grand jury for a potential indictment, sources said.
This isn’t Nguyen’s first brush with the law, or mass attention.
He was a contestant on “Jeopardy!” twice in 2014, winning one episode of the iconic game show.
But while Nguyen put on an affable face as a winning quiz show contestant, authorities said he illegally used his day job – a home health aide to a 96-year-old and his 92-year-old wife – as personal piggy bank.
Nyugen stole more than $300,000 from the couple, which he used to pay for ballet tickets, Broadway shows and Florida vacations, Manhattan prosecutors said.
He eventually pleaded guilty in 2018 to three charges, including endangering the welfare of a disabled person, court records show.
During Nyugen’s six-month jail term, he called into former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s weekly appearance on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show ” to gripe about conditions in Rikers Island, from ill-fitting “clown” shoes to overcrowding. After his bit, he unsuccessfully sued the city over the jail’s conditions.
He remained on probation during the time of his latest arrests, and hadn’t been a problem, Rothman said.
Rothman said he expects Nguyen’s arrest will amount to a probation violation in the Manhattan case. He’ll represent him in that case, which is set for an Aug. 5 hearing.
Nguyen landed a job at Saint Ann’s in 2020, despite his criminal record. The hire raised concerns among families, one parent previously told The Post.
“A lot of parents are deeply shocked and angry about this — that the school had allowed a convicted felon to become a teacher,” the parent said.
— Additional reporting by Aneeta Bhole
