Former Jeopardy! contestant arrested in sexual image investigation

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The former Jeopardy! contestant was arrested last week at an elite private school in Brooklyn, where he had taught math since 2020, as part of an investigation into sexualized images circulating on social media, according to the New York Post.

Nguyen – also a convicted thief who was incarcerated at Rikers for stealing $300,000 from an elderly couple – was arrested last Thursday in front of students at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights.

Sources told the post that no charges were filed against Nguyen, but that the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office is investigating him. He was released on Saturday.

“We are awaiting a decision from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office regarding the charges against Mr. Nguyen,” his attorney Frank Rothman told the post in an email.

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“We expect movement in the near future.”

A spokeswoman for Saint Ann’s told the Daily Beast, which first reported on the incident, that he was “immediately placed on leave from school following his arrest on Thursday and remains on leave.”

On the day of the arrest, school principal Kenyatte Reid told parents that Nguyen, a middle and high school math teacher, had been arrested in connection with an investigation that “dates back to January 2024.”

As The Daily Beast reported, Reid informed parents in a follow-up email a few days later that Nguyen was prohibited from contacting anyone in the school community or attending school.

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“This incident is deeply troubling to all of us,” Reid wrote. “We pride ourselves on our amazing teachers and a learning environment built on trust.”

Nguyen was released from Rikers Island prison in 2019 after stealing more than $300,000 from a couple while working as a caregiver.

According to a report in the Daily Beast, a spokesperson for St. Ann’s School said there was a comprehensive background check during the hiring process, including taking criminal records into account, and “a non-violent criminal record does not have to preclude employment.”

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