Photo Courtesy of UFT Solidarity Caucus
District Attorney Brown said Rodriguez was “a trusted coach and teacher” at Richmond Hill High School.
By Forum Staff
A Richmond Hill High School coach and former attendance teacher convicted for attempted use of a child in a sexual performance and other charges has been sentenced to two to six years in prison.
Luis Rodriguez, 45, of Freeport, Long Island engaged in sexually explicit communications with a fifteen-year-old student between October 2014 and November 2014.
“The defendant was a trusted coach and teacher. He was someone whom parents believed their children would be safe with. But this defendant violated that trust. This coach used an extracurricular school activity to prey on this young victim. This case should serve as a clear and unmistakable warning that law enforcement will arrest and prosecute sexual predators. This defendant is now going to prison as punishment for his actions and to protect society,” said DA Richard Brown.
Rodriguez was convicted at trial in December 2016 of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance, first degree disseminating indecent material to minors and endangering the welfare of a child.
Trial testimony says that at various times between October 1, 2014, and November 7, 2014, Rodriguez texted or used the FaceTime video chat feature on a cell phone to send sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old female student.
During these conversations, Rodriguez told the student that he wanted to engage in sexual intercourse and have oral sex with her. The defendant, during this same period of time, sent a video message to the student’s cell phone showing himself masturbating.
