A former Brooklyn math teacher and “Jeopardy!” champion was arrested on Thursday in connection to charges involving child pornography after he allegedly posed as a fellow student on Snapchat.
Winston Nguyen, 37, of Harlem, surrendered to Brooklyn prosecutors Thursday morning after a month-long investigation into accusations he lured teens into sending him nude or sexually explicit videos and images.
He was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court and charged with use of a child in sexual performance and promoting sexual performance by a child, as well as other crimes, the district attorney’s office announced in a press release.
Nguyen — who in 2014 took home $10,000 as a winner on “Jeopardy!” — reportedly preyed on six students from various schools, including Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, where he used to work.
According to prosecutors, he’s charged with crimes against five girls and one boy, ages 13 to 16, between October 2022 and May 2024.
“A complicated investigation by detectives from my office revealed extremely disturbing conduct by this defendant, who allegedly posed as a peer to coax teenagers to send him sexually explicit images of themselves, which he then allegedly distributed,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Nguyen’s bail was set at $30,000 cash or $75,000 bond. He’s next due in court on Oct. 17.
Nguyen was previously arrested in 2017 for stealing roughly $335,000 from an elderly Manhattan couple for whom he worked as a home health aide.
He allegedly used their identities to write himself checks, and was ultimately charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and identity theft.
He spent nearly four months behind bars on Rikers Island.
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