Former Yorktown Teaching Assistant Charged with Child Porn
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A former teaching assistant in the Yorktown School District could face up to 20 years in prison after being indicted in federal court in White Plains Nov. 1 on charges of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.
Giuseppi Micciari, 27, of Yorktown, is a 2014 Yorktown High School graduate who was hired last summer to be assistant coach of high school’s JV football team, but resigned before working in the position.
As a probationary employee, he worked as a teaching assistant at Brookside Elementary School from Nov. 2019 to June 2021 and at the high school from Sept. 2021 to June 2023.
“Giuseppi Micciari’s alleged conduct is vile and disturbing, especially given that, as a teacher, Micciari was entrusted with the care of children,” said Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
According to the allegations in the complaint filed Oct. 31. 2023 in federal court, a review of Micciari’s phone revealed the existence of numerous videos and images containing child sexual abuse material, including adult men performing sexual acts on children under 12. Williams said Micciari’s phone displayed the use of Telegram, an internet and cloud-based instant messaging service that permits its users to exchange messages, share media and files, and hold private and group voice or video calls.
Among the communications contained in the Telegram app were communications revealing a request by Micciari’s phone for an “account hack” of an individual’s Snapchat account, as well as communications in which another individual asked, “What age teen content you have?” Micciari’s phone replied, “There’s one big Mega 10-17.”
Micciari was charged with one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
“Giuseppi Micciari was entrusted with our most vulnerable segment of society—our children,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo. “Not only is Micciari accused of collecting and sharing of these heinous acts, but also attempting to hack into a student’s social media.”
In a Nov. 1 letter to the Yorktown School Community, Yorktown Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ronald Hattar stated none of the district’s students appear to be part of the charges.
“It is important to emphasize that based on the information we have received at this time, we have absolutely no reason to suspect that any district student was involved with regard to the charges filed,” Hattar wrote. “Should we become aware of new information that is pertinent to our school district, we will share that with you to the greatest extent permissible by law.”
“Be assured that despite the district not being implicated in this matter in any way and the individual no longer being employed in the district, we have nonetheless reported this matter to the State Education Department,” Hattar added. “We will also fully cooperate with this investigation as the education of our students, their safety and well-being will always be our top priority.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/