STORRS -- For the second day in a row, another educator is under scrutiny by the group known as Pop Squad.
This time, a high school teacher is on paid leave during an investigation. The Pop Squad calls him #106, but he’s been identified as 40-year-old Daniel Bochicchio, a high school math teacher.
“I’m here to have a conversation with you about you coming to meet a 14-year-old boy after these chat logs that you just had," said Incognito, the founder of the Pop Squad, as he confronted Bochicchio.
“What?” asked Bochicchio as he got back in his car.
FOX61 confirmed through E.O. Smith Superintendent Jill Krieger that the man in this video is Daniel Bochicchio. He has been placed on paid administrative leave pending a police investigation. He is from the Vernon/Rockville area and is a math teacher at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs. Krieger said he’s been teaching grades 9-12 at the school for more than 15 years.
School officials were made aware of the video at about noon on Monday and immediately called the police and the state's Department of Children and Families. FOX61 caught up with one of his former students who told us they’re surprised by this development.
“He was a great math teacher,” said former E.O. Smith student Olivia Murphy. "I texted my brother. He had him as a teacher also and he was a little older than me. He couldn’t believe it either. I asked him if anything was weird or anything with the teacher and he didn’t say anything."
Bochicchio has not been charged with any crime but Bristol police are investigating. The video shows him purportedly arriving at a home where, according to the Pop Squad, he thought he was meeting a 14-year-old boy.
“He ended up saying he wanted to hang out and talked very explicitly. Long story short, as soon as he got out of his car and I came out, he was really shocked and got in the car and sped off,” said Incognito.
The Pop Squad is a Connecticut based organization that targets people who they believe might be internet predators. Superintendent Krieger said that Bochicchio has not had any prior disciplinary incidents or allegations against him during his time at the school.
The sting took place in Bristol and the police have confirmed they are investigating the incident.
