Teacher Sentenced to 25 Years for Sexual Abuse of Student

A teacher in New York has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for abusing a 16-year-old student at a special needs school. Sandy Carazas-Pinez, 36, was convicted of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activities, with the judge also ordering five years of supervised release.

Prosecutors stated that between November 2022 and February 2023, Carazas-Pinez, a former public school teacher from Yonkers, manipulated her student into believing they were in a romantic relationship. She used her cellphone to send texts, make calls, and conduct video chats to arrange sexual encounters. Authorities revealed that she forced the student to livestream explicit acts during video calls.

In her messages, Carazas-Pinez expressed feelings of missing the student and discussed whether to end their relation. She described the livestream sexual acts as “gifts” and directed the teen to obtain school passes to leave campus and meet her in various locations around the Bronx, Yonkers, and Staten Island for sex. She also sent explicit pictures and instructed him to delete them afterward.

She went as far as to instruct the student to delete evidence and even directed him to obtain permission from his school to meet her outside campus. Authorities noted that she was a married mother of three when she was terminated from her position.

Legal and Community Response

US District Judge John P. Cronan emphasized that sexual exploitation by teachers is a crime against the community, stating that any such actions by trusted individuals will not be tolerated.

Carazas-Pinez had previously been detained after violating her bail conditions, which prohibited her from having unsupervised contact with minors. She had also emailed a former student shortly after his 18th birthday, a behavior her lawyer described as “troubling.”