Matthew Chicas, a math teacher, has been sued, fired and accused of child abuse charges for allegedly filming an 11-year-old student in the bathroom of a prestigious Catholic boys’ school in Manhattan (NYC) with his cell phone.
Olaya López, the boy’s mother, filed a lawsuit against the school in June over the alleged incident, alleging that Chicas had sexually abused her son “JC.”
Girls he pleaded “not guilty” at his arraignment Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court. He is due back in court on September 13.
The 29-year-old suspect faces charges of illegal surveillance and endangering the welfare of a minor, among other charges, he reported. New York Post. He was a teacher of Xavier High School but the supposed perverted incident would have happened on April 15 in another school, while Chicas worked in the REACH leadership program and the Jesuit preparatory class for high school boys that was being held in Regis High School, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Jack Raslowsky, president of Xavier High School, said the teacher had been suspended for the rest of the school year after his initial arrest in April and then the school did not renew his contract.
All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
In a similar case, last month Richard Leaf, a 75-year-old former teacher and well-known Westchester County (NY) high school sportscaster, admitted to receiving child pornography.
This week a Hispanic former chemistry professor at City College in New York was arrested and charged with sexually abusing three women after persuading them to emigrate from El Salvador to the US.
In June Steven Marksberry, a New York police officer assigned to the Bronx, was arrested at his home on Long Island for alleged possession of child pornography.
In April Damon Rallis, former vice chairman of the Southold Town (Long Island) Democratic Committee and former leader of the city’s Boy Scout troop, pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography. Also that month, a Latino construction worker was charged with consuming child pornography in New Jersey.
He National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) warned since 2020 about an increase in cases of child pornography for the most adults and children time online during the pandemic. If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being mistreated, especially if they are a minor or elderly person:
