Friday, November 6, 2026
Michael Fazio, a former music teacher at W.T. Clarke Middle and High School in the East Meadow School District, was sentenced to 19 months in prison for possession of child pornography on Oct. 28.
The case was presided over by U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New Yok. Fazio pleaded guilty to the charges against him last year.
Fazio, 41, of Bellmore, possessed hundreds of images of child pornography in a Dropbox account and on his cellphone. During the execution of a search warrant In April 2025, according to court filings and statements, Fazio admitted that he uploaded three images of child pornography to his Dropbox account in October 2024. A search of one of his cellphones revealed more than 700 additional images. Another cellphone that belonged to Fazio contained a “Hidden Pictures” folder, which he used to store adult pornographic images as well as images and videos of some of his former students that he surreptitiously recorded during music instruction.
The prosecution against Fazio was conducted as part of the Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
Fazio was also sentenced to 5½ years of supervised release after he serves his prison term. Fazio will also have to register as a sex offender as a result of the guilty plea.
Choudhury, in a Newsday report on the sentencing, said children are not just traumatized by the abuse they endure by creators who coerce of force them into making pornography — they also experience fear and anxiety when learning that images or videos have been distributed to wider audiences.
Fazio initially faced 6½ to 8 years under federal sentencing guidelines, but was given a 19-month sentence because he did not have a prior criminal record, nor was he involved in the production or distribution of child porn, according to Newsday.
