A former New York City public school teacher, Sandy Carazas-Pinez, has been placed in custody by a federal judge after repeatedly violating strict bail conditions. Carazas-Pinez, 34, is facing charges of engaging in multiple sexual acts with a mentally ill 16-year-old student in her car, as well as producing child pornography. The case has been described as one of the most horrific instances of sexual abuse by an educator in recent New York history.
Brooklyn federal judge John Cronan revoked Carazas-Pinez’s bail after discovering that she had breached the conditions of her home confinement. Although she was forbidden from having unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 18, Carazas-Pinez sent an email to another former student, who had just turned 18, to wish him a happy birthday. While not technically a violation, Judge Cronan deemed it to be against the spirit of the conditions, as it appeared to fit a pattern of grooming behavior exhibited by the accused.
Prosecutors argued that Carazas-Pinez’s actions were troubling and indicative of her grooming a student for sexual purposes. The judge, considering her a real danger to the community, warned Carazas-Pinez to comply with the rules or face imprisonment.
In recent weeks, Judge Cronan learned of multiple violations reported by pre-trial supervisors. These included unauthorized stops at a mall and an Applebee’s restaurant during strictly limited outings. Carazas-Pinez had obtained permission to pick up a paycheck and cash it, but instead, she visited a restaurant and bar on Staten Island, followed by a trip to a wooded area, as revealed by GPS tracking. She later admitted to using the check-cashing request as a pretense after a dispute with her parents, with whom she was staying after being kicked out by her husband. Judge Cronan concluded that she had lied.
As a result, Carazas-Pinez was sent to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on April 15. The mother of the victim, whose identity is being protected, expressed relief, stating, “She’s a very disturbed individual, and I’m glad she no longer has access to children — especially mine.”
Carazas-Pinez had been employed at the Biondi School, a city-funded institution for children with special needs in Yonkers. The nonprofit organization Rising Ground, which operates the school, terminated her employment in March 2023 after witnessing her with the student in her car. Prior to that, Carazas-Pinez had taught at PS/MS 007 in Harlem and PS/IS 218 in The Bronx.
