Teacher Charged for Allegedly Taking Photos of Students

Posted 9:58 am, January 10, 2018, by , Updated at 07:04PM, January 10, 2018

HONESDALE -- A teacher in the Wayne Highlands School District has been arrested for taking inappropriate photos of students, according to investigators.

State police have charged Gaspare Gambino, 34, of Honesdale, with 14 counts of invasion of privacy, accusing the Spanish teacher at Honesdale High School of taking inappropriate photos and videos of 14 different female students.

Investigators secured a warrant and looked at Gambino's files stored on Google Cloud and found those photos and videos.

Investigators say back in September, school officials discovered Gambino was using his school-issued iPad to take photos and videos of at least 14 female students. The girls were wearing clothes but the photos and videos were under skirts and dresses.

"Scared, scared," said parent Greg Tagle. "I have two daughters in the school, one in middle, one in high school. Just because this teacher was taking pictures of girls he found attractive is scary."

Many parents picking up their kids after school already knew of the charges against Gambino.

According to prosecutors, some of those photos appear to have been taken from the teacher's desk during class.

"For the rest of their lives, they'll remember this. This won't go away," said parent Kelly Utegg. "Hopefully the parents will start therapy for them. Because it will be something they're going to think about. Here's a teacher they trusted, an adult they trusted. What are they going to think about men from now on?"

According to court papers, administrators didn't know about those photos and videos until students discovered them in September. Investigators won't say just how many photos were just discovered but say they're numerous and of 14 underage girls.

"Pictures were found by accident from what I understand. Luckily they were found. Hopefully, my daughter was not one of them," Tagle said.

Police believe a student who borrowed the iPad discovered the pictures.

School officials tell Newswatch 16 Gambino has been suspended ever since the incident back in September. He is suspended with pay pending the investigation.

Troopers say not all the victims have been identified and they are working with school officials to identify them.

Gambino has taught Spanish in the Wayne Highlands School District since 2015.

Troopers say it appears Gambino tried to delete the photos and videos from his Google account after he was caught.

He's out on bail.

80 comments

  • Mutilioi

    Honesdale High School student here. I had him for Spanish 1 last year. The story goes that a Spanish 1 student back in September asked to borrow Mr. Gambino’s iPad (which he lended out very often) because he either forgot his or it was out of power, he then checked his photos app were he found the photos. He then told the district superintendents daughter who was in his Spanish 1 class about it who told her father. One of the students I know he took pictures of was a senior last year that was helping was kind of a helper for him and was an extremely kind and helpful person. He then apparently was absent from there on where the story blew up. This artical spread like WILDFIRE today in school since everyone had wanted to know what happend to him after that.

      • Uncle Santa

        Was it the school’s iPad/phone/device? It likely wasn’t the teacher’s in the first place, but if it was, I seriously doubt there was any expectation of privacy once that iPad was given to the student. Now this fool will do the Curly Shuffle all the way to prison.

      • 🤔

        Yes it was the schools iPad. They issue them to the teachers and the students that way they are all linked for assignments and grades and such. They found all the pics and videos in his Google cloud. He was trying to delete them but was busted anyway. It just sickens me that a teacher would do such a thing.

      • Michael William Crichton

        Scumbag should have password-locked the folder if he didn’t want anyone snooping in it. Of course, that would have been taken as evidence against him if someone ELSE discovered it, like the administration of the school that issued him the computer in the first place. And I guarantee the district has a “we reserve the right to snoop on ANYTHING you do with this computer” policy he had to sign when they did, so he’d have no defense at all.

  • Bill K.

    OK, think about this. Let’s take the hottest girls in school. Now let’s put on them cutoff shirts and put them in miniskirts. Now let’s have them dance in front of large crowds of people. Let’s have them bend over while their mini skirts flip up. Let’s have them jump up in the air while their mini skirts flip up. Spin around while their skirts flip up too. Now let’s film all this and broadcast it. I just described the national high school cheerleading championship being held February 10-11 and broadcast on ESPN. That’s perfectly fine.

    • typical wnep commenter

      Only difference is consent. Kind of a big difference, but I can watch you defend pedophiles all day. Keep em comin’!

      • Bill K.

        Typical Commentator, so you’re fine with exploitation on TV? Just don’t take a picture of what everyone sees in plain sight in public?

    • Roflmao

      Disgusting Bill. Consent!. What part about consent is hard for you Pedophiles to understand? Just because a stripper is a women, does not grant you permission to photograph all women nude. You need to be in jail !

      • Bill K.

        ROFLMAO, so exploitation on TV is perfectly fine? Just don’t take a picture of what everyone can see in PUBLIC with their own unaided eyes? What’s next? Will remembering what something like this looks like become a thought crime which we will be punished for?

    • Originally f/ NEPA

      Hey Douchebag. It still doesn’t make it okay. You’re missing the point. They were under age by law.

      • Bill K.

        Hey Originally, you’re the douchebag. you’re the one who thinks taking pictures in public is illegal. How may other rights do you give away? When will they start saying “well you must remember what it looked like. So you posses those images in your mind and that’s illegal”. No Originally, YOU don’t get the point. This photo was taken in public. He merely got out a camera and snapped a picture. Similar photos are found on Facebook and the person who posted them certainly didn’t get written consent.

      • 🤔

        It would be different if he was just taking a pic of their face but the perv was taking pics of their private parts. There is a huge difference. As a parent, I would be upset if he even took a pic of their face. What do teachers need pic of our children for anyway? That’s my question. They should get parental consent before any pics of our children are taken. There are some sickos out there. This is a prime example of it.

      • 🤔

        Bill, did you read the article? It was pics of under skirts and dresses. You mean to tell me you can see up a girl’s or woman’s skirt ” in plain sight” as you claim? What a crock of poo. You can’t. I understand what you’re saying about the cheerleading outfits. I agree the skirts are way too short. The point is this teacher took pics of these girls and some of them were right from his desk. That’s pretty sick if you ask me. He was being a disgusting perv. He invaded their privacy by doing so cuz I’m sure NONE of them would consent to it.

  • warningfakenews

    What he took photos of may have been available for his VIEWING pleasure from the teacher’s desk. There’s no crime if he was merely looking at what he could see from there, only if he got some pics of it. Think about it.

    • Bill K.

      Fakenews, soon just remembering what a cheerleader looks like in her miniskirt will become a thought crime and we will be punished severely.

    • WHEN IN DOUBT, GET THERAPY, IT WORKS

      Totally agree with your comment. If they were plain view pictures, there is no crime. Taken from his desk, how bad can they be ? Not defending this guy because we do not know all the facts yet, but he should not be taking pictures of any female students in today’s day and times period !!!!!
      Now for all the snowflakes and their children, ” Hopefully the parents will start therapy for them “.
      Are you kidding me ? Would imagine these snowflake kids would already be in therapy because they did not win 1st place in their sport, or because someone picked on them.
      Dam snowflakes

      • warningfakenews

        My point is that what he took pictures of didn’t belong in “plain view”. Some girls learn early alternative ways to get good grades, and some of them were taught by their mothers.

    • The Real Scrantony

      You need to get your eyes checked lady. Cute? this guy is a ham-planet in training instead of being a nasty perv he ought to have hit the gym instead.

  • Corey

    What’s worse. I’m a parent of a student here and this is the first I’m hearing about it. Let law suit season begin!

    • Bill K.

      Nope, just looking at what these girls are showing everyone else. Using his own two eyes. Only difference is he took a picture of what everyone can see in plain view. Somehow that’s a crime. Next they’ll say remembering what you see in a situation like that is a crime too and the thought police will get you.

      • Fashion

        All of the “facts” aren’t being presented, but this is how it is, today. Underage girls dress as if they are going to a sex club and their parents are letting them go out of the house dressed like tramps. A girl should be able to wear what she wants, you say? Nope. There is this missing component of society and it’s called, “modesty.” We don’t need to see or know everything, and parents need to start leading and guiding their children instead of warehousing them until they move out.

      • 🤔

        WHSD has a very strict dress code that they DO enforce. They are made to change if it’s inappropriate dress. I know cuz I have children in the school district. This man was nothing but a perv. He should not be on leave with pay. He was caught end of story. They should terminate his pay and fire him.

  • fast track to diaster

    This is why the people of Wayne County should really get a hobby that doesn’t involve guns, fishing poles, or anything sold at Field and Stream. This is exactly what it leads to. The women that share those hobbies are ones you won’t want a thing from and then fast forward to resorting to…. whatever you call this!

  • Jay

    What is this (with pay) bull crap ?? What is with teachers, police officers and politicians still getting paid after committing crimes. That’s rite it’s only tax payer money

    • Michael William Crichton

      They’re getting paid after being ACCUSED of crimes, because of that whole innocent-until-proved-guilty thing. Would you rather someone get’s accused, not paid for months/years, acquitted, and then they have to sue for back pay and damages?

  • Carl Knows Best

    Does that district only hire perverts? This has happened there several times already and they have a pretty bad track record if you look up past articles about what’s gone on with staff and even students.

    • Fancy Pants

      There are no words. What an embarrassment to the whole community. I feel awful for the people who had to work with this creep and even worse for the students in that district. It seems like they have a lot of trouble in that district with sex crimes. Must be that back woods way the farmers and shootin men are proud of!

  • Dave

    Wayne County…… where the beer is warm and the women are cold…… and this type of stuff happens because of it.

  • Pay up

    Private parts. Did HE take the photos, or were the photos SENT to him?

    Doesn’t matter. The whole world’s going to hell in a handbasket……….

    • EmTae Resol

      This has nothing to do with skook, you should learn some geography. He is probably a relative of yours,

  • Stand Back

    So taking a picture of someone with their clothes on in a public place is now a crime? Could this world get any more ridiculous?

    • Nicole

      Being an Italian has nothing to do with it at all.. the fact is a teacher was taking cooter shoots of underage females. Nothing to do with being italian . So take ur ignorant comment and stick it up ur ass :)

  • Vet Check

    What does this mean, “taking pictures?” Did he sneak into the girls’ locker room or bathrooms? This is report is completely ambiguous and presents not one single fact – just a lot of titillating innuendo.

    • Vet Check

      ……..and, to clarify: if this guy DID take inappropriate photos, then he deserves to be prosecuted.

      Weird article

Comments are closed.