Former ‘Jeopardy!’ winner accused of catfishing kids for lewd photos pleads guilty
Former Jeopardy! winner and teacher Winston Nguyen has pleaded guilty to catfishing kids to get them into sending him sexually explicit images.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, Nguyen, who was a math teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights in New York City, has pleaded guilty on Monday, March 3 to use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony, and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Detailing the case, the 38-year-old—who won in a 2014 episode of the game show Jeopardy!—pretended to be a teen student when talking to students aged 13 to 15 on the social media platform Snapchat, where he would trick them into sending “images of nudity and sexual performances.” He would also send nude images and “videos that depicted a teenage boy masturbating to the victims.”
The incident took place between October 2022 and May 2024, and he used his two Snapchat accounts, which have IP addresses verified to be connected to his Harlem residence. Other evidence includes digital communications, images, and accounts from victims.
This came eight months after PEOPE Magazine reported that he was arrested in June 2024.
“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. 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,” said District Attorney Gonzalez on Monday, per the press release.
He will serve a seven-year prison sentence and will have 10 years of post-release supervision. He will also be registered as a sex offender.
His sentencing is set for March 17.
