A Brooklyn high school employee was arrested for allegedly producing child pornography and sexually exploiting a minor, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Sheepshead Bay resident Brian Quinones, 30, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child of pornography, cyberstalking, and related offenses. He is scheduled to be arraigned before the federal court in Brooklyn on May 11.
Quinones is a paraprofessional at Midwood High School, and the charges relate to sexually explicit videos of a child that Quinones allegedly requested and received from a boy he met over the Internet, as well as other sexually explicit images and videos that Quinones possessed and distributed.
“As alleged, Quinones was a prolific trader of child pornography who posed as a woman in order to solicit sexually explicit videos from a minor boy, then blackmailed the victim with cruel threats to post the material on the Internet,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “This Office is working diligently with our law enforcement partners to address the online exploitation of minors and protect our children from predators like Quinones. Today’s prosecution should also serve as a reminder to parents and caregivers to remain vigilant about your children’s communications over the Internet and the importance of educating our children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers.”
According to court documents, between September 2019 and January 2020, Quinones allegedly used an instant messaging mobile application to trade dozens of videos and images depicting child pornography with another individual, who has since been charged with child pornography-related offenses. The FBI executed a court-authorized search of Quinones’s home and seized his electronics, allegedly uncovering a series of sexually explicit messages between Quinones, who was impersonating a woman, and a minor male victim (John Doe).
In the messages, Quinones allegedly lured Doe into creating and sending sexually explicit videos. Quinones then allegedly threatened to post Doe’s material on the Internet unless the victim agreed to make additional sexually explicit content, allegedly stating in a message on WhatsApp: “I got everything you sent,” adding that he would “ruin” John Doe. Quinones also allegedly directed Doe to do “[e]verything I tell u to do” and to “behave.” He then wrote, “Get on your hands and knees.” When John Doe declined to do so, Quinones allegedly threatened, “I’m ready to make u famous[.] Any last words?”
“Sexual predators often prey on the terror children experience when they are coerced and manipulated into creating explicit photos and videos,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll. “We allege Quinones threatened to expose the images his victim created if the child didn’t continue to send him more. Children often fear going to an adult to report what’s happened because they’re humiliated, and they believe the threats. The FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force believes Quinones may have more victims, and we ask anyone with information to contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov so we can hold him fully accountable for his actions.”
“Any kind of sexual exploitation of a minor is absolutely detestable behavior,” stated NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “But when the suspect has also been entrusted with our communities’ children, it is especially disturbing. Decades ago, predators would go to a playground or a park to find young victims. Now, there’s an entire virtual world full of potential targets. These types of crimes have devastating effects on children and their families, and I commend and thank all of the investigators at the NYPD, FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District who are dedicated to identifying and bringing to justice those who commit such offenses.”
If convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, Quinones faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment.
Brooklyn High School Paraprofessional Charged with Production of Child Pornography and Sextortion Scheme
(w/ @EDNYnews )
ADIC Driscoll: “(We) believe Quinones may have more victims, and we ask anyone with information to contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI”https://t.co/poQ4vRnusV pic.twitter.com/40XW4iknYy
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) May 11, 2022
