A former “Jeopardy!” contestant, ex-convict and math teacher at a prestigious Brooklyn private school was arrested last week as part of an investigation into sexually explicit images that were being circulated on social media, sources said.
Winston Nguyen, a convicted thief serving time in Rikers Island prison for stealing $300,000 from an elderly couple, was arrested last Thursday in front of a large crowd of students at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights.
Nguyen has not been charged but is under investigation by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, sources confirmed to The Washington Post.
He was released on Saturday.
“We are awaiting a decision from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office regarding the charges against Mr. Nguyen,” his lawyer, Frank Rothman, told The Washington Post in an email.
“We expect to see some movement in the near future.”
A St. Anne’s spokesman said high school tuition costs more than $60,000 a year. The Daily Beast confirmedNews website The Daily Star, which first reported the case, said Winston was “a suspect in an ongoing investigation into the dissemination of intimate images through social media”.
“Upon his arrest on Thursday, the school immediately placed him on administrative leave and he remains on administrative leave,” the spokesperson noted.
The day Nguyen was arrested, St. Ann’s Principal Kenyatte Reid notified parents that a middle and high school math teacher had been arrested following an investigation “dating back to January 2024.”
As reported by The Daily Beast, Reid did not disclose the nature of the investigation until days later, but later told parents in an email that the investigation was about “inappropriate sexual imagery” and that Nguyen had been barred from contacting school officials or visiting the school.
“This incident is deeply disturbing to all of us,” Reed wrote. “We take pride in our incredible faculty and trust-based learning environment.”
Nguyen has been teaching at St. Ann’s School since 2020, just a year after he was released from Rikers Island for using an elderly couple as his personal piggy bank.
He pocketed more than $300,000 while working as a home health aide for the couple, and used the cash to buy tickets to the ballet and a trip to Florida.
During his time in prison, Nguyen publicly criticized conditions at the Department of Corrections, appeared on two radio shows to speak with Mayor Bill de Blasio, and later filed a lawsuit against the city.
St. Anne’s said it conducted comprehensive background checks, including criminal history, during the hiring process.
“A non-violent criminal record is not a barrier to employment,” a school spokesperson told The Daily Beast. “The school carefully and thoughtfully evaluates job applicants to determine whether they are a good fit for our school.”
Nguyen did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
St. Anne’s School is a well-known institution with many famous alumni and faculty members.
Notable alumni include “Girls” creator Lena Dunham, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and Maya Hawke, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.
Tuition at the luxury school starts at $52,900 for preschoolers and rises to $60,525 for high school students, plus a number of additional fees.
