Salesian Teacher Sent Indecent Material To 15-Year-Old: DA

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Former Salesian High School teacher Mariela Barajas was arraigned for disseminating indecent material to a 15-year-old, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced today.

Barajas was charged on Monday, in Mount Vernon City Court, with felony disseminating indecent material to minors. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office made the arrest of the 22-year-old Mount Vernon resident following an investigation, with assistance from the Mount Vernon Police Department and New Rochelle Police Department.

While employed at the New Rochelle school, in December 2021 and January 2022, Barajas engaged in a series of sexually explicit conversations with the male victim on Instagram and Snapchat, according to investigators. During the conversations, the defendant is said to have sent the victim naked videos of herself engaged in sexual acts.

Barajas is scheduled to appear again in Mount Vernon City Court on February 14.

The case is being prosecuted jointly by the Trials and Investigations Division Cyber Crimes Bureau and the Special Prosecutions Division Child Abuse Bureau.

Anyone who has been a victim of the suspect or has further information on this case is asked to contact the District Attorney’s Office at (914) 995-TIPS.