Sex arrest for NJCU instructor

Wednesday, April 02, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Leonardo V. Zayas, a 35-year-old adjunct faculty member at New Jersey City University, was charged Monday morning with trying to lure someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl into a sexual encounter, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Zayas, of Fifth Street in Jersey City, engaged in sexually explicit dialogue with a law enforcement official - not a 14-year-old girl, as he thought - in chat rooms and instant messaging over the Internet, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.

A computer science teacher at the college, Zayas masturbated and transmitted those images via his Web camera, authorities said.

Zayas also instructed the alleged 14-year-old female to masturbate. Additionally, Zayas requested to meet the presumed 14-year-old-girl for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity, Molinelli said.

Zayas is charged with attempted sexual assault, attempted endangering the welfare of a child and attempted criminal sexual contact.

NJCU spokeswoman Ellen Wayman-Gordon said Zayas first worked at the college in 2001, but has not been employed there every semester.

In the wake of his arrest, he is no longer teaching, but he is being paid, she said.

There were no complaints on file at the college about Zayas, Wayman-Gordon said.

Quote:

Nope, not joking in the least. I have been flabbergasted by the flat-out untruths news reports can contain. If you've ever been "close" to a story that's been covered by the press, I'm sure you have had similar experiences.

I've had quotes from me, and quotes from people I know, show up in the paper bearing little resembalance to what was actually said.

In short, I don't trust the press, particularly in the "news breaking" type stories- Seems as though folks go by memory & what they think they heard as much as anything else in their rush to get the story up.

Further- is it possible that he sent video of himself doing whatever he was doing, who knows who he thought he was sending it to?

I don't want to argue that particular point- Just to use it to make a broader point. We don't know what we don't know, and we don't know that what we do "know" is accurate. All we know for sure at this point is that that man, with that name, has been arrested after being accused for some pretty wicked stuff. That's it.

Now ultimately I have little doubt that he's being prosecuted justly. I seriously doubt Bergen County is just picking on him. But that's why we have a grand jury & much more importantly a public trial with a petit jury.

People do get arrested and tried and then aquitted all the time. It's not like it's an uncommon occurance. This particular gentleman by news accounts ain't looking so good, but that doesn't mean that we should be pounding the stake in the ground and spreading the gasoline at his feet just yet.

GWB

Zayas is being prosecuted by Bergen County. I wonder if Jersey City P.D. has an internet sex crime division?

Anyone know?

GWB: "First of all, guilty until proven innocent".



Quote:

GWB you have got to be joking... In light of the PHYSICAL evidence of masturbation and transmitting images over the web- kind of hard to plead innocent on that one.

2 words: Chris Hansen.

First of all, innocent until proven guilty.

Second of all

http://www.njcu.edu/googlesearchresul ... nardo+Zayas&sa=Search#652

Yikes, computer science professor. Don't guys who get busted for this kind of crap normally get barred from internet access as a condition of parole?

So much for the Java programming career.


GWB

The topic should be:

"SEX OFFENDER LIVING ON 5TH STREET!"

disgusting!

Maybe he could find a lady his own age if he waxed his uni...

You beat me to it with this post. I've got little girls as do many of my friends who even live on fifth st.

What a creep. What's scary is that he looks normal.

Professor arrested in Internet sex sting
A New Jersey college professor was arrested Monday morning.

Monday, March 31, 2008 | 9:36 PM
Eyewitness News

JERSEY CITY (WABC) -- A New Jersey college professor was arrested Monday morning, charged in connection with his alleged interactions with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli announced the arrest of 35-year-old Leonardo Zayas, of 247 5th Street in Jersey City, on charges of attempted sexual assault, luring, attempted endangering the welfare of a child and attempted and attempted criminal sexual contact.

Zayas is a professor of computer science at the New Jersey City University.

Authorities say the arrest stemmed from an investigation concerning the following: Leonardo Zayas engaged in conversations via the Internet, specifically chat and instant messaging, with who he believed was a 14-year-old girl. During the course of those conversations, Zayas initiated sexually explicit dialog. Zayas masturbated and transmitted those images via his web camera, and Zayas also instructed who he believed to be a 14-year-old female to masturbate. Additionally, Zayas requested to meet the presumed 14-year-old-girl for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

He was reportedly arrested without incident at the prearranged meeting location.

Prosecutor Molinelli urges anyone whose child spoke with online with screen name "leozayas1972@yahoo" to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Computer Crimes Unit.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6053566

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=533016