Pedophile NYC Teacher Preyed On Hundreds Of Kids, Feds Say

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A Brooklyn high school teacher was arrested for bullying children into sending him sexually explicit photos of themselves on social media, according to federal prosecutors.

Jonathan Deutsch — who has taught at Edward R. Murrow High School, Brooklyn Tech and Gramercy Arts High School — will face five counts of sexual exploitation of a child when he is arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors said.

The 34-year-old teacher, currently employed by Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences, has allegedly contacted hundreds of children through Facebook Messenger and had sexually explicit conversations with at least 45 since January 2017, court records show.

"It is clear from the content of these conversations that the defendant targeted vulnerable, often prepubescent, children," the prosecutors' detention memo reads. "[Deutsch] used his status as a teacher, among other things, to develop a relationship with those children and thereby groom them for exploitation."

At least four kids, whose ages range from 10 to 16 years, sent sexual photos and videos of themselves to Deutsch, for said prosecutors.

Deutsch, who identified himself as a teacher "into drugs and children," repeatedly hounded one 13-year-old transgendered child for photographs on Jan. 13, 2017, said prosecutors.

Another 16-year-old girl was repeatedly targeted by Deutsch, who requested pornographic videos of the teen that same month, according to prosecutors.

In February, Deutsch sent explicit messages about acts of pedophilia to a 14-year-old girl whom he told he loved and would never leave, prosecutors said.

And Deutsch pretended to be a 14-year-old boy when he asked a 10-year-old child to be "bf gf," or boyfriend and girlfriend, in May, said prosecutors. He later told the girl he had previously dated an 8-year-old.

Deutsch obtained about 10 photographs and six videos, and also sent explicit photos to his victims, prosecutors said.

The high school teacher — who taught English, special education and theater in high schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan — was arrested Wednesday, said prosecutors.

If convicted, Deutsch will face a mandatory 15-year prison sentence, prosecutors said.

Patch left a voice message for Deutsch's attorney and will update this story if and when he responds.

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