An elementary-school substitute teacher from Manhattan was among 26 people busted in a child-porn ring that traded “truly sickening . . . images of child sexual assault the way that others trade baseball cards,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., said yesterday.
Joshua Ruiz, 32, who as recently as last month filled in at four Manhattan schools, faces charges of possessing and promoting child pornography.
Prosecutors said he had explicit photos and videos of girls and boys, and chatted online with other perverts about engaging children in sexual activities. He allegedly told one he had had sexual contact with a relative under 15.
When another online correspondent discussed the idea of a sexual encounter with a small girl, Ruiz said he “would love to be a part of it if you let me, at least just to watch,” according to prosecutors.
He was arrested on May 4, but freed on $20,000 bail. Prosecutors brought him back to court yesterday to ask that the bail be raised to $35,000 based on new information.
The judge refused, noting that Ruiz had not been charged with additional crimes.
Ruiz had worked since 2008 at schools including PS 199, PS 166, PS 111 and PS 333. The Department of Education said Ruiz had no criminal record when he was hired.
The teacher’s bust came at the end of a five-month investigation that snared 25 other individuals ranging in age from 18 to 63.
They included an architect, a National Guardsman, a Harvard-educated lawyer, a worker at a kid’s shoe store and a dishwasher at a restaurant that catered to children.