Former Yorktown Teaching Assistant Accused Of Having Child Porn

YORKTOWN, NY — A former teaching assistant in Yorktown district schools was arrested Wednesday after being accused of having child pornography.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Giuseppi Micciari, 27, of Yorktown, was charged with one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Both counts carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Williams said investigating and prosecuting those who sexually exploit children remains of paramount importance to his office.

“Giuseppi Micciari’s alleged conduct is vile and disturbing,” he said, especially given that Micciari was entrusted with the care of children.

Prosecutors said a review of his phone found the existence of numerous videos and images containing child sexual abuse material.

Micciari’s phone revealed the use of Telegram, an internet and cloud-based instant messaging service that allows users to exchange messages, share media and files and hold private and group voice or video calls.

Among the communications in the app were those with revealing a request by Micciari for an “account hack” of an individual’s Snapchat account, as well as communications in which another person asked, “what age teen content you have,” and Micciari replied, “there one big Mega 10-17.”

Authorities also said a U.S. passport application submitted in connection with the issuance of a passport for Micciari identified his occupation as “teacher.”

A spokesman for the Yorktown schools stressed that Micciari was a teaching assistant, not a teacher for the district.

He graduated from Yorktown High School in 2014. He was employed at Brookside School from November 2019 until June 2021 and Yorktown High School from September 2021 until June 2023.

Micciari was appointed to be an assistance junior varsity football coach at the July Board of Education meeting, a spokesman said. However, he tendered his resignation prior to assuming that role. The Board accepted his resignation at its August meeting.

In a letter to the Yorktown school community, Superintendent Ronald Hattar said Micciari was a probationary employee.

He said because the matter remains an open police investigation there may not be further comment.

“However, it is important to emphasize that based on the information we have received at this time,” Hattar said, “we have absolutely no reaons to suspect that any district student was involved with regard to the charges filed.”

He also said, despite the district not being implicated in this matter in any way and with Micciari no longer employed by the district, the matter was reported to the State Education Department.