Tutor faces federal charges in Greenwich sex abuse case
A retired teacher charged by the state of Connecticut with the fourth-degree sexual assault of a young child in Greenwich whom he was tutoring is now facing federal charges in the case.
In a federal indictment unsealed in White Plains, N.Y., John Mueser, of Yonkers, N.Y., was charged with one count of sexual exploitation and one count of transportation of child pornography.
“Mueser’s conduct should shock the community into action to help others. The FBI will never waver in its commitment to protect our society’s most vulnerable citizens, but we are all better working together as we try to protect our children,” FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said in
announcing the indictment. “We believe there may be more victims in this case, and we need your help. We implore parents or family members of potential victims to contact us.”
Mueser, 69, a former teacher at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, N.Y., “induced a 7-year-old minor, whom he was tutoring, to engage in sexually explicit conduct, used his iPhone to record the activity and then transported the images from Fairfield County, Connecticut, to Westchester County, New York,” according to a statement from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Mueser had been working as tutor for a Greenwich family, according to the federal complaint. He allegedly touched the youngster in an illicit manner and took numerous inappropriate photos and videos, according to the arrest warrant in the state case.
Mueser was arraigned Tuesday in Stamford on state felony charges of fourth-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and first-degree possession of child pornography. Greenwich police arrested Mueser in April.
In his first appearance in court since his arrest, Mueser pleaded not guilty to the state charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. He is free on $250,000 bond and prohibited from possessing a cellphone with a camera.
Mueser was due to appear Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judith C. McCarthy in federal court in White Plains. He has a postal address of Tuckahoe, while his residence listed in court papers lies within the city of Yonkers.
The federal charge of sexual exploitation carries a minimum prison sentence of 15 years, and the charge of transportation of child pornography carries a minimum of five years.
Greenwich police began an investigation in 2019 after receiving a complaint from the family that Mueser had inappropriate photos of the child on his phone, according to the arrest warrant. Investigators found over 1,500 “contraband and evidentiary images and videos” on Mueser’s cellphone, the affidavit stated.
Assistant State’s Attorney Dan Cummings, who earlier this week successfully urged a Stamford Superior Court judge to prohibit Mueser from possessing a camera phone while awaiting trial, said the federal charges will not let the suspect off the hook on the Greenwich charges.
“We will be observing the federal proceedings and intend on pursuing the state charges once the federal case is concluded,” Cummings said. If Mueser is held in custody on the federal charges, he will not have to show up in Stamford court, otherwise he will be required to attend his hearings in Connecticut, Cummings said.
Prosecutors say the investigation of Mueser is ongoing. Anyone with information on him or other cases of sexual abuse are asked to contact 1-800CALL-FBI.