Long Island Teacher Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charges

A Massapequa High School teacher pleaded guilty today to charges of transportation and possession of child pornography.

Joseph Zanco is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in jail, and a maximum of 20. He will also have to pay a fine of $250,000.

“Zanco now faces years in prison for victimizing children by possessing and transporting images of minors being sexually abused, at the same time he was employed as a teacher and entrusted with the safety and well-being of students,” said United States Attorney Richard Donoghue. “The protection of innocent children is a priority for this office and our law enforcement partners. We will continue to make every effort to ensure that those who contributeto the victimization of children are brought to justice.”

Donoghue said that in April 2018, while working as a teacher at Massapequa High School, Zanco began uploading hundreds of images of child pornography to Google Drive. Google flagged the uploads, and in accordance with its policies and the law, suspended his account and notified law enforcement.

Federal prosecutors and agents obtained search warrants and recovered the images from Zanco's account, as well as additional images and videos of child pornography from Zanco's computer and cell phone.

Zanco was arrested last August and was placed on house arrest at the time.

Massapequa Superintendent Lucille Iconis said that Zanco has been on administrative leave since last April when the district was first alerted about the investigation into him, and has not had access to students, staff or district facilities. However, he is still employed by the district.

"We have also been informed by the U.S. Attorney's Office that no Massapequa students were identified in the materials secured and reviewed in connection with this investigation," Iconis said in a letter to parents. "The District cooperated with law enforcement authorities throughout their investigation."