Source: US FBI
Paul Geer was a Teacher at the “Family Foundation” Private Boarding School, Which Operated in Hancock, New York, From Approximately 1992 Until 2014
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Paul Geer, age 57, of Hancock, New York, was convicted today by a federal jury after a two-week-long trial on two counts of coercing and enticing two separate children to travel across state lines to engage in unlawful sexual activity and two counts of transporting the children across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with those children. The jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two additional counts.
Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon and Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Craig Tremaroli made the announcement.
The evidence at trial proved that, while Geer was a teacher at the Family Foundation School in Hancock, New York, he imposed various disciplinary sanctions on students that were tantamount to torture. The sanctions Geer imposed on students included depriving children of food or forcing children to eat food that had been regurgitated, binding children in rugs and leaving them in isolated rooms for extended periods of time and forcing children to perform forced physical labor. The evidence at trial further proved that, in 1994 and 2001, Geer used his position of authority and his ability to impose these brutal sanctions to coerce two students to travel with him, on separate occasions, to Maine and Toronto, Canada. The evidence at trial also proved that Geer transported the students across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity with them. While on those trips, Geer raped or otherwise sexually abused each of the two children.
Geer was taken into custody following the verdict.
At sentencing currently scheduled for July 9, 2025, in Albany, New York, the two counts of coercion and enticement each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. The two counts of transporting children across state lines each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance New York State Police and the Colonie, New York Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica N. Carbone, Adrian S. LaRochelle, and Michael D. Gadarian prosecuted the case as a part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, and led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.