A Long Island teacher was arrested Friday for attempting to engage in sexually explicit online chats with a decoy account he believed belonged to a 13-year-old girl, according to police.
Mark Verity, 37, of Islip, is accused of having inappropriate communications online — including “requesting indecent photos” from a purported child, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a press release.
SCPD Digital Forensics Unit detectives began an investigation into the alleged online activities after receiving a report from the Riverhead Town Police Department regarding a teacher at Wading River Elementary School, part of the Shoreham-Wading River Central School District.
Verity was allegedly caught on camera confessing to the crimes to a sting of local vigilantes, as well as Riverhead police, saying he knew it was wrong and that he was aware he’d “messed up,” ABC7 New York reported.
In the video, recorded by Predator Poachers Long Island, he also admitted to possessing child pornography featuring girls as young as 8, according to the undercover group.
Following an investigation, Suffolk County detectives arrested Verity at a family member’s home in Mattituck and charged him with attempted dissemination of indecent material to a minor and two counts of attempted use of a child under 17 in a sexual performance.
Shoreham-Wading River Superintendent Gerard Poole referred to the incident as a “deeply troubling situation for our entire community” in a letter sent to parents, New12 Long Island reported.
“The charges brought forward are heinous and deeply disturbing, and they stand in direct opposition to the values we uphold as a school district,” Poole said, adding the case was being treated with “the utmost seriousness and urgency.”
Officials say there’s no evidence Verity had engaged in similar conversations with any actual students at the school district.
