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Winston Nguyen, a former “Jeopardy!” champion and Brooklyn Heights private school teacher, pleaded guilty on Monday to soliciting sexually explicit images of children and is expected to receive a seven-year sentence.
The 38-year-old rose to prominence after winning “Jeopardy!” in July 2014, and he appeared in two episodes. A decade later, he made headlines for very different reasons.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, while working as a math teacher at St. Ann’s School, Nguyen posed as a teenager on the social media app Snapchat from October 2022 to May 2024.
Prosecutors claimed he persuaded some students to send him lewd photos and videos while pretending to be a child.
His victims went to not only the school where he worked, but also Poly Prep Country Day School, Berkeley Carroll School, and Packer Collegiate Institute.
“The fact that he was a teacher and a popular figure among students makes these allegations even more concerning.
We will now seek to hold him accountable and will continue to work tirelessly to protect children from sexual exploitation,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement following the arrest.
Nguyen was reportedly handcuffed while working in front of students on July 25, 2024, and has been involved in a legal battle since.
According to court documents, Nguyen’s victims ranged in age from 13 to 16. Using the account name “hunterkristoff,” he not only asked the victims to send him the disturbing content, but also paid them for it.
This is not the first time he has gotten into trouble with law enforcement. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $300,000 from his senior employers while working as a home health aid.
On March 3, Nguyen appeared in Brooklyn court and pleaded guilty to using a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony, as well as five counts of endangering the welfare of children under the age of seventeen.
He was taken into custody and will be evaluated prior to sentencing. He is expected to be sentenced to seven years in prison and ten years of post-release supervision. He will also need to register as a sexual offender.
“Today’s plea holds this defendant responsible for his disturbing and predatory conduct while sparing young and vulnerable victims from ever having to testify about their traumatic experiences,” Gonzalez told the jury.
“This kind of exploitation of children, made even more distressing by the fact that the defendant was a trusted school figure, will never be tolerated in Brooklyn, and we will continue to expose and root it out.”
