ALBANY — Paul Geer, a former teacher at the Family Foundation School in Hancock, operated by Michael Argiros and Cindy Ray aka Cindy Argiros, was sentenced Sept. 4 to more than 27 years in federal prison for sexually abusing students under his supervision in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Geer, 58, was convicted in March on charges that he coerced two children to cross state and international borders to engage in sexual activity, and that he transported them to Maine and to Toronto, Canada, with the intent to abuse them. A jury also heard testimony describing punishments Geer imposed at the boarding school that prosecutors compared to torture, including depriving students of food, binding them in rugs, and forcing them to eat regurgitated meals.
“This case exposed a teacher who used his position not to protect children, but to break them down physically and psychologically before exploiting them,” said John A. Sarcone III, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. “Paul Geer was a monster … he is now paying the price for his heinous conduct and will spend the next 27 years where he deserves to be, in a cage.”
The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino, follows years of investigation into the Family Foundation School, a controversial private boarding school that operated in Hancock from 1984 until it closed in 2014 amid mounting allegations of abuse. Former students told The Reporter in previous interviews that the school’s disciplinary system was “cruel” and “fear-based,” with punishments that left lasting psychological scars.
Craig L. Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albany field office, described Geer’s actions as “so depraved it’s truly hard to comprehend.” He added: “He was entrusted to care for students at the Family Foundation School but instead tortured them for years. Nothing was more important than delivering justice to those students.”
In addition to the prison term, Geer will serve three years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a federal initiative targeting child sexual exploitation. Investigators from the FBI, Colonie Police Department, and New York State Police assisted in building the case.
The sentencing marks one of the most severe penalties yet connected to the Family Foundation School, which for decades drew students from across the country before its abrupt closure.
See additional reporting at the-reporter.net
