WHITE PLAINS, NY (January 18, 2023) — Mariela Barajas, 23, of Mount Vernon, NY pleaded guilty on January 10, 2023 before Judge Susan Cacace to Attempted Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the First Degree, a felony. In a negotiated plea, Barajas has been promised a sentence of five years of probation and will be required to register as a sex offender. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18, 2023.
COVER PHOTO: Barajas leaving Mount Vernon City Court following a court appearance on February 14, 2022.
During the criminal proceedings, Barajas undertook unspecified treatment which was obliquely discussed in open court.
Barajas was a social studies teacher at Salesian High School in New Rochelle. Her employment was terminated after her inappropriate relationship with a young teen boy came to light. The student was a sophomore at the school, sources said at the time.
Barajas was charged on January 24, 2022, in Mount Vernon City Court with Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the First Degree, a felony. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office made the arrest following an investigation, with assistance from the Mount Vernon Police Department and New Rochelle Police Department.
While employed at Salesian High School, in December 2021 and January 2022, Barajas engaged in a series of sexually explicit conversations with the male victim on Instagram and Snapchat, according to investigators. During the conversations, the defendant is said to have sent the victim naked videos of herself engaged in sexual acts.
Mariela Barajas was the subject of an emergency faculty meeting at Salesian on the day of her arraignment. Her image and profile was removed from the school website by the end of the day.
At the time, a New Rochelle Police Department spokesperson said the NRPD was contacted about Mariela Barajas, but the matter was taken up by the Westchester County District Attorney Investigators due to jurisdictional issues.
“We don’t believe any of the alleged actions happened in New Rochelle,” said NRPD Captain J. Collins Coyne.
According to her LinkedIN profile, Barajas graduated from Iona College in 2020 while working as a private tutor for a company hired by the Mount Vernon School District. She worked as a student teacher at Salesian before being hired as a full-time teacher.
School officials at Salesian High School did not respond to requests for comment.
The case was prosecuted jointly by the Trials and Investigations Division Cyber Crimes Bureau and the Special Prosecutions Division Child Abuse Bureau.
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