Bethel Woman Charged With Sexual Exploitation Of Child At NY School

BETHEL, CT — A 34-year-old Bethel woman has been arrested after she allegedly engaged in multiple unlawful sexual encounters with a minor, authorities said.

Sandy Carazas-Pinez, a high school biology teacher at a school in Yonkers, NY, was charged with enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and the production of child pornography on July 12. The 16-year-old victim was one of Carazas-Pinez's students, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York.

A teacher at The Biondi School, Carazas-Pinez allegedly "…enticed one of her students to engage in sexual activity and live-stream sexually explicit conduct," FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Christie M. Curtis said in a statement.

According to the indictment, Carazas-Pinez induced the student to engage in sexual activity by causing the victim to "believe that they were in a romantic relationship." The teacher would then use her personal cellphone to call, text, and video call the student to arrange sexual encounters and to repeatedly induce the student to engage in live-streamed sexually explicit conduct while on video calls with her.

The one count of enticing a minor victim to engage in illegal sexual activity carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The second charge, production of child pornography, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment "are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.