A disgraced Manhattan school teacher was turned loose Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to taking photos of a young boy in a school bathroom nearly two years ago.
According to court documents, Matthew Chicas, a former math teacher, was accused of attempting to take snaps of an 11-year-old boy at Regis High School on the Upper East Side on April 15, 2023. The child was urinating in the bathroom when Chicas reportedly tried to take photos from a nearby stall.
“A student informed us that an unidentified person attempted to take photos of him while he was in a restroom. Immediately after the allegation was reported to us, we contacted the student’s parents and reported the allegation to both Child Protective Services and the NYPD. The NYPD responded and came to Regis that afternoon to begin their investigation,” Regis High School said in a statement, adding that Chicas was immediately fired. “Based on our review of the facts, we terminated teacher Matthew Chicas.”
The criminal complaint reported that the boy heard a noise when he spotted a cell phone peeking over the top of the stall.
Chicas was indicted on child abuse charges, including unlawful surveillance and possessing a sexual performance by a child. While he initially pleaded not guilty, he later pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.
Chicas remained out in the streets throughout the proceedings since the charges were not bail-eligible.
“We are deeply distressed that one of our teachers violated the high standards that we expect our faculty and staff to uphold in their interaction with our students,” Regis High School added.
On March 19, 2025, Chicas had all charges vacated except for the child endangerment charge and was sentenced to conditional release that will require him to complete a rehabilitation program and remain out of trouble.
“Thank you, your honor, and thank you to my lawyer,” Chicas said.
