Former Middle School Teacher Sentenced to Federal Prison for Texting Obscene Matter to Students

CONCORD, NH—Richard Victorino, 33, of Manchester, New Hampshire, a former middle school teacher, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas. Victorino will also be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years, under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Victorino pled guilty on January 25, 2011 to using a cell phone to send obscene matter to two of his former students, who were minors under the age of 16. Prior to sending the obscene photos, Victorino engaged each minor in sexually explicit cell phone texting relationships. One of the minors had been a student of Victorino while he was teaching at the Londonderry Middle School in Londonderry, NH. The other minor had been a student of Victorino while he was teaching at the West Running Brook Middle School in Derry, NH.

Victorino was arrested after the FBI assumed the identity of one of the minor victims and conducted an undercover operation that included sending text messages to and receiving text messages from Victorino. Victorino has been held without bail since his arrest.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the United States Secret Service and the Derry and Nashua (New Hampshire) Police Departments. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold Huftalen.