NYC theater teacher sentenced to 12.5 years behind bars for child pornography

A New York City theater teacher caught with more than 1,000 heinous images and videos of child sex abuse involving kids as young as 6 has been sentenced to 12 and a half years behind bars, authorities said.

In addition to a having trove of child pornography, some of which included footage of “abuse and rape of children, infants, and toddlers,” Anthony Michael Souza was found to have had sex with an underage teen for more than a year — and bragged about “grooming” his young students, according to Manhattan federal prosecutors.

Souza, 38, met his victim, then 15, on Grindr and filmed their sexual intercourse — and also allegedly hosted a “sex party” in which someone else had sex with an underage teen, according to court records.

He worked as a “teaching artist” at the TADA! Youth Theater of NYC from 2022 to 2023, a group that has received more than $4.3 million in contracts with the DOE and Department of Cultural Affairs since 2010, Susan Edelman reported on her Substack.

While he was not accused of abusing his students, prosecutors said Souza boasted to an undercover agent in 2024 that a 5th-grade boy he was “grooming” appeared “innocent, confused, uncomfortable,” during an exchange via Snapchat, according to court documents.

“I teach a class he is in . . . I was giving him eyes,” Souza said in one sickening message.

The child quickly ended the call and blocked Souza, authorities said.

The predator pedagogue even took videos of his own students and shared them with his fellow pedophiles — including one revolting clip in which he bounced a fully clothed boy on his groin.

He shared 250 videos and approximately 1,050 images containing child pornography in a three-year span from 2022 to his arrest in 2024, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York said.

In addition to the prison time, Souza will spend five years on supervised release after pleading guilty in September to child pornography charges. Lawyers for Souza did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.

“New York City parents trusted Anthony Michael Souza to keep their children safe, betrayed that trust by sharing ghastly child pornography and preying on minors, including his own students,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said.

Souza was never employed by the Department of Education, but did work for a third-party vendor that provided services to NYC schools, though the agency declined to specify which schools he worked in.

“NYC Public Schools provides targeted support in any situation where students are directly impacted, and we remain prepared to offer resources if needed. The safety and well-being of students remains our top priority,” a DOE spokesperson told The Post.

Souza was “fully vetted and cleared” to work in schools by the DOE before he was hired, a spokesperson for Tada! NYC theater told The Post, adding the allegations concerned incidents which took place after he left.

The FBI and DOJ never contacted the group, said the spokesperson, who noted the group has a policy of having two adults present with children at all times.

“The charges against Mr. Souza are horrific and our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” the spokesperson said.

The disgraced theater teacher posted a series of self-pitying messages on his personal Facebook before he was sentenced.

“Remember me this way,” he posted above a picture of himself April 6, shortly before his sentence was announced, prompting a friend to respond, “Are you okay???”