A former music educator at W.T. Clarke Middle and High School in the East Meadow School District was sentenced to 19 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography, liherald.com reported.
Michael Fazio, 41, of Bellmore, pleaded guilty to the charges last year and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury on Oct. 28, according to the report. Prosecutors said Fazio possessed hundreds of images of child pornography in a Dropbox account and on cellphones.
According to court filings, a search of Fazio’s phone revealed a hidden folder containing adult pornographic images along with images and videos of former students that he had secretly recorded during music instruction. The recordings were made without the students’ knowledge, the report stated.
Fazio received a sentence below the federal guideline range of 6½ to 8 years because he had no prior criminal record and was not involved in producing or distributing child pornography, according to Newsday as cited by liherald.com.
Fazio was also sentenced to 5½ years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. The case was prosecuted under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.
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