A former music teacher at a Bronx middle school was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing five female students decades ago, plying them with phones and gifts and manipulating them into thinking he was in love.
The teacher, Jesus Concepcion, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to coercing the girls, each between the ages of approximately 12 and 16 at the time, into having sex in the school’s music room, in his car and at motels in New Jersey, a string of crimes that occurred over seven years.
Mr. Concepcion, 51, pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. He was sentenced on Tuesday by Judge Loretta A. Preska as four of his victims and their relatives watched.
Mr. Concepcion, who wore a navy blue shirt, sat expressionless beside his lawyers in the chilly Manhattan federal courtroom as his victims spoke tearfully about what he had done to them.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENT“Jesus Concepcion enjoys defiling and destroying children’s lives,” said one victim, who was identified in legal filings as Minor Victim-3. Turning to face her former teacher, she continued: “If it were up to me, I would request capital punishment.”
In a brief statement in courtheart games, Mr. Concepcion apologized directly to the women he had victimized, speaking slowly and looking straight ahead. “There isn’t anything I can say that can take back what I’ve done,” he said. “Me saying sorry falls short.”