On April 13, the Justice Department announced that Mark Nacht of Waltham, MA, was arrested by the FBI in Albany, NY on April 10 for attempted enticement of a minor. On April 14, Newton Public Schools (NPS) informed the school community of the arrest, noting that Nacht was formerly an NPS special education administrator. NPS also issued a press statement saying Nacht had “worked in the district from 2017 to 2024, …has not been employed by NPS since December of 2024 …[and] “has not had access to any district buildings, grounds, or digital systems since that time.”
The Justice Department’s press release said this arrest was part of a “sting operation” and will be prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, “a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.”
NPS statement
NPS issued this press statement on April 14:
Yesterday, we were informed that former district employee Mark Nacht was arrested in Albany, New York, as part of a federal investigation. Mr. Nacht worked in the district from 2017 to 2024. Although LinkedIn indicates that Mr. Nacht is a current employee, he has not been employed by NPS since December of 2024 when he subbed for a psychologist on leave. He has not had access to any district buildings, grounds, or digital systems since that time.
NPS employees are thoroughly background checked before finalizing employment and the former employee noted in this situation passed all checks and had no history of prior incidents, as far as we knew. The district is cooperating fully with authorities. At this time, law enforcement has not provided any information indicating that Newton Public Schools students were involved or harmed by this individual. Since this is an active investigation and involves personnel matters, we are unable to provide additional details.
As anyone can imagine, this news is very upsetting and support services are available to our students, families and staff. We respectfully request that media refrain from contacting students, families, or staff.