Private school teacher catfished students, shared their photos with pedophiles, feds say
A middle school teacher in Pennsylvania catfished teenage boys online, including many of his own students, to manipulate them into sending him sexually explicit photos, federal officials say.
Andrew Wolf, 42, taught 8th grade math at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy — an elite private school in Philadelphia — while secretly targeting teen boys online, USA Today reported.
Wolf used multiple fake social media accounts and contacted his victims while posing as teenage girls as part of an “elaborate” catfishing scheme, according to a Feb. 17 release by the United State’s Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Wolf was also in close contact with a person he met online, 20-year-old Kray Strange, who was a resident in Carthage, New York. From May 2020 to Oct. 2021, he shared explicit photos with Strange, and personal information about his students so Strange could prey upon them, the release said.
Authorities began investigating Wolf after receiving a tip from Dropbox, an online file sharing service, WPVI reported. The tip was submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
At least 12 students at the school were victimized, an official told the outlet.
FBI investigators found that Wolf had put together an extensive spreadsheet containing names and information of 78 of his students, current, former and upcoming, The Philadelphia Enquirer reported.
In one instance, Wolf and Strange tried to pressure a student to go into the bathroom at school and record themself masturbating, the paper reported.
When victims began to grow suspicious of the catfish accounts, Wolf suggested they should blackmail the students and demand they keep sending more explicit content, the outlet reported.
Wolf and Strange were indicted in February 2022, and Wolf pleaded guilty in June to several charges of manufacturing child pornography, according to the release.
“(Wolf) accepted responsibility for conduct charged against him and apologized to the victims and their loved ones,” Wolf’s attorney’s said in a statement to WPVI. “He waived all his Constitutional rights to trial so no testimony would be necessary in connection with his indictment. The actions he took, and the statements he made were sincere efforts to express his remorse and mitigate the effect of the post-offense proceedings in the only way he could.”
A federal judge sentenced Wolf on Feb. 17 to nearly 39 years in prison and over $200,000 in fines, the release said.
“Our Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to holding child sexual predators accountable,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in the release. “Today’s sentencing will never make the victims whole; however, it should serve as a reminder to all of us that an open line of communication and discussion with our youth about the ever-evolving dangers on the internet are another key component to keeping our youth safe.”
Online blackmail and ‘sextortion’ is a growing threat, with teens and young boys in particular falling victim, according to the FBI. If you or someone you know is being extorted, officials ask that you contact authorities for help.
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