SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — A Long Island mother is accused of taking sexually explicit photos of her 15-year-old daughter and then posting them on social media.
The 51-year-old mother was indicted on 54 counts after prosecutors said she forced her daughter to pose in sexually explicit photos, including naked photos, for years and then used her daughter's social media accounts and phone to share the images and communicate with her classmates to "boost [the teen's] self-esteem."
1010 WINS and WCBS 880 are withholding the name of the mother to protect the identity of her daughter.
The 15-year-old told a school counselor and her principal in February, and the East Northport mother was arrested.
"We need to start having frank conversations about what adults and parents are doing on social media because, in some cases, including this one, it's worse than any kid could do," said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, the head of Long Island’s Family and Children’s Association.
According to Newsday, during her March 14 arraignment, Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Dana Castaldo told State Supreme Court Justice John Collins that the victim made the admission after friends told her that an image of her posing in a sexually explicit manner in a bikini "began circulating around the victim's school."
Castaldo said that the alleged abuse had been going on for three years, since the girl was in sixth grade.
When the victim confronted her mother about the text message image circulating at school, her mother responded, "That's not even a nude, relax," Castaldo told the judge.
The woman's lawyer could not be reached for comment, and the Suffolk County district attorney's office declined to comment.
The 51-year-old, who worked at Western Suffolk BOCES, has been removed from the classroom, a spokesperson told Newsday.
The Western Suffolk Boards of Cooperative Educational Services includes 18 local school districts and is one of three BOCES on Long Island.
"Immediately upon learning of the employee’s arrest, Western Suffolk BOCES administratively reassigned her and ensured that she had no further contact with BOCES students and no access to its premises," school spokesperson Nancy Fischetti told the outlet. "We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as it investigates this matter."
The woman was ordered held on $250,000 cash bail or $500,000 bond.
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