(José Niño, Headline USA) The Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) district, New York’s second-largest educational system, has been embroiled in a major scandal following allegations that district officials willingly obstructed investigations into child abuse and sexual assault cases.
Buffalo Police Special Victims Unit Detective Richard Hy made the explosive claims Friday on the “Unsubscribe Podcast”, which has attracted over 1 million views.
Hy alleged that BPS administrators and attorneys failed to report sexual assaults between students and abuse by adults. Additionally, he asserted that BPS employees allegedly deleted surveillance footage of criminal incidents, per a report by BTPM NPR.
Statement from the Buffalo Public Schools pic.twitter.com/A2IsPMMxNY
— Buffalo Public Schools (@Buffalo_Schools) April 26, 2025
According to the detective, BPS employees ignored subpoenas and refused to cooperate with police investigations and withheld critical information from the families of abuse victims.
Hy emphasized that his decision to go public, despite potential disciplinary repercussions, stemmed from his frustration that there were no penalties for schools that did not take action against these cases of abuse.
Several cases in the school district stand out.
On February 18, 2025, Shane Cronin, a 30-year-old Illinois resident, allegedly entered the Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School, attempted to abduct two students — a male and female —, and assaulted an assistant principal who intervened, per a report by 7 News WKBW.
While Cronin faced charges including third-degree assault and endangering a child’s welfare, Hy revealed deeper institutional failures. Notably, the school informed only the female student’s family about the abduction attempt, leaving the male student’s parents unaware until prosecutors discovered a second victim via leaked cellphone footage.
In October 2024, a high school student reportedly approached her counselor three times about physical abuse by her father.
The student verbally disclosed beatings, but the counselor — who must report these incidents under New York law — did not alert authorities.
The student subsequently provided cellphone video evidence of abuse, which the counselor also allegedly ignored. In the third approach, the student arrived “black and blue” , finally prompting the counselor to act, triggering an emergency removal of the child.
The father was subsequently charged with third-degree assault.
Hy believes that BPS has a “culture of downplaying violence,” with teachers like Mark Bruno corroborating that the district has historically minimized incidents.
“I think you always hear this is an isolated incident, we take this very seriously, and I strongly disagree every time they make both of those statements,” Bruno said. “It’s not isolated. It’s happening in many of our schools, and I don’t believe it’s taken seriously.
BPS issued a blanket denial this past weekend, describing Hy’s claims “unfortunate and untrue” while boasting about its “close and professional relationship” with police. The district’s statement emphasized BPS’s size — 60 schools, 30,000 students, 7,000 staff — as evidence of its commitment to safety.
Facing public outcry, the Buffalo Board of Education convened a 2.5-hour emergency executive session on April 28, leading to the announcement of an independent external investigation, according to a report by Spectrum News 1.
Board President Dr. Kathy Evans-Brown stated: “The BOE is initiating an independent external investigation and the results will be shared publicly.”
Edward Speidel, a parent advocate, was not shocked by the latest allegations concerning the Buffalo school district.
“I’m not 100% surprised… I get assault calls, special ed calls-I’m not surprised at all,” Speidel said.
For Buffalo’s families, the hope is that this crisis leads to lasting, positive change and accountability is brought to all school authorities involved.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
