By Sophia Chang
Anthony Laufgraben, 34, had pleaded guilty Feb. 15 to engaging in sexually explicit conversations online last summer with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old boy but who was actually a NYPD detective, Brown said. Laufgraben, who lived at 69-28 Springfield Blvd. in Fresh Meadows, had also set up a meeting with the detective at a Queens Boulevard restaurant near Forest Park, a good place to have a sexual encounter, according to the DA.Laufgraben admitted that he e-mailed the undercover detective digital photos of himself, supplied him with a password to gain access to a gay pornography site, asked about the fictitious boy's sexual development and asked if the boy wanted to experiment, the DA said. State Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chin Brandt in Kew Gardens sentenced him last Thursday to six months in jail and five years' probation. He has also agreed to enroll in a sex offender treatment program and to not engage in a profession which places him in direct contact with children, Brown said. The city's Department of Education confirmed last month that Laufgraben is no longer a teacher at Cardozo, the high-performing District 26 high school in Bayside. Laufgraben must also register as a Level II sex offender with the state, which places him at what the state Division of Criminal Justice Services calls a “moderate” risk of reoffending.”The defendant has admitted his guilt, waived his right to appeal and will now be punished for his crime,” Brown said in a statement last week. “The case shows again that law enforcement is vigilantly patrolling the Internet to protect children from sexual predators and prosecute and punish those who would do harm to them.”Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
