Wantagh Man Sexually Abused Campers At Long Island Day Camp: Police

A counselor at a Long Island day camp who lives and works in Wantagh was arrested Monday for sexually abusing campers, Suffolk Police say. He is the camp's second employee to face sex abuse charges in recent months.

According to authorities, Jay Marcello, 25, endangered the welfare of the campers and disseminated indecent material to minors while working at Kenwal Day Camp, located at 100 Drexel Ave. in Melville. Police say Marcello, who was employed by Camp Kenwal for the past seven years, inappropriately touched 14-year-old campers and had inappropriate conversations with campers of various ages between July and August 2016.

This investigation into Marcello's alleged actions began in October 2016 after Keith Meyn, a fellow employee at Kenwal Day Camp, was charged in a 112-count indictment in connection to sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy at the camp and possessing a “massive” collection of child pornography, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney. Meyn had been participating in illegal activities involving children for more than a decade, the DA says.

Marcello was arrested at Sand Hill Road and Wantagh Avenue in Wantagh at 7 a.m. as he was driving to Nassau County BOCES Rosemary Kennedy Center in Wantagh where he is employed as a substitute teaching assistant, police say.

He was charged with eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of third-degree sex abuse and first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors. He will be held overnight at the Second Precinct and will be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Detectives believe there may be additional victims and the investigation is continuing.

Anyone who may be a victim or have information about this case is asked to call the Computer Crimes Unit at 631-852-6279. All calls will be kept confidential.

The investigation into Marcello's arrest was conducted by Suffolk County Computer Crimes Unit detectives, the FBI Long Island Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Image via Suffolk Police