WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 12, 2017 3
Ridgewood teacher sent sex videos to teen girl he taught: DA
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
A 35-year-old teacher previously
assigned to a Ridgewood public
school who was busted last
week for allegedly exchanging sexually
explicit images with a teenage
girl he previously taught is out on bail,
according to court records.
Michael Cognato, 35, was taken into
custody on Oct. 6 at the District 25
offi ce located at 30-48 Linden Place in
Flushing. Cognato, previously a math
teacher at I.S. 93 on Forest Avenue.
He was arraigned that evening on a
33-count criminal complaint and later
released on $20,000 bond.
Cognato faces up to 15 years behind
bars if convicted, according to Queens
District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
"The charges are very troublesome,"
Brown said in a statement on Friday
night. "A teacher is accused of preying
on a young student he had once been
entrusted to teach. A classroom should
always be a safe place for a child. If
true, this teacher destroyed his former
student's trust."
Prosecutors said the girl had previously
been a part of Cognato's eighthgrade
class; aft er she graduated from
I.S. 93, Cognato allegedly continued to
tutor her in advanced math. The two
remained close during the following
school year, as he communicated with
her through Facebook and Skype.
On or about July 20 of this year, law
enforcement sources said, Cognato allegedly
contacted the victim through
Snapchat and sent several pictures
of himself without a shirt. Later, he
began engaging in sexually explicit
conversations with her and would
send her several naked pictures of
himself.
The following month, Brown noted, he
allegedly began sending the victim videos
of himself performing various sexual acts.
Between Aug. 15 and Sept. 29, Cognato had
allegedly sent the girl 15 graphic videos
of himself, and she sent back other explicit
videos that she made at his request.
The girl's mother contacted police
aft er learning of the indecent behavior.
Members of the NYPD Queens Special
Victims Squad arrested Cognato following
an investigation.
Cognato, a Bethpage resident, was
charged with using a child under 17
for a sexual performance, promoting
a sexual performance by a minor,
possession of sexual performance by a
child and acting in a manner injurious
to a child.
“These alleged actions are deeply
disturbing and have absolutely no
place in our schools," a Department
of Education spokesperson told QNS.
"This individual was immediately removed
from the school and reassigned
away from students.”
Photo via Shutterstock
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