ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ABUSING THREE YOUNG BOYS FACES NEW CHARGES OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a grand jury has filed new charges against former school teacher Milton McFarlane in connection with the alleged sodomy and sexual abuse of six young boys.

Mr. Johnson said McFarlane has been indicted on charges of Reckless Endangerment in the 1st degree, Possessing an Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child and Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child. Reckless Endangerment in the 1st degree is a Class D felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to seven years imprisonment. The possession of pornographic material involving children is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to seven years imprisonment.

According to the new indictment, the defendant, "under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life", did recklessly engage "in unprotected deviate sexual intercourse...while suffering from a potentially fatal infectious disease". McFarlane, who disclosed his health status at the time of his arrest, tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in 1995.

It is also alleged that McFarlane "knowingly did have in his possession or control an obscene performance which includes sexual conduct by a child less than sixteen years of age to wit: images of child pornography" on the hard drive of his computer. These charges were the result of information supplied by federal authorities who were conducting an investigation into child pornography and the Internet. The FBI uncovered evidence that McFarlane had joined a child pornography club on the Internet and had received hundreds of images and movies of children engaged in sexual activities.

These new offenses are in addition to charges filed by a grand jury in May 2001 which include two counts of Sodomy in the 1st degree, eighteen counts of Sexual Abuse in the 1st degree, one count of Sexual Abuse in the 2nd degree and four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Those charges were filed in connection with sexual assaults on six young boys on several occasions in 1998 and 2001.

The assaults occurred at Public School 78 in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx where McFarlane, a 38 year old resident of Poughkeepsie, New York had taught second grade until his arrest on may 2, 2001. The most serious charges against McFarlane are the alleged oral and anal sodomy of a nine year old boy. If convicted, McFarlane could be sentenced to a maximum term of up to 25 years imprisonment on each count.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Robert Holdman, Lynetta St. Clair and Sarah Schall.