Long Island College Professor Charged With Attempted Enticement Of a Minor

Philip Schuler was arraigned in federal court in Central Islip this morning on a seven-count indictment charging him with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and child pornography charges. Schuler, who was an adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College at the time of the charged conduct, was arrested on a complaint in January 2026. Today's proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks who ordered the defendant detained pending trial.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the charges.

"As alleged, the defendant spent months communicating with an FBI undercover agent who purported to be a 13-year-old female child, during which the defendant repeatedly expressed his interest and willingness to have a sexual relationship with her," stated United States Attorney Nocella. "Our Office will vigorously prosecute sexual predators who target children to ensure they are held accountable and protect vulnerable members of the community from these depraved individuals."

"Philip Schuler allegedly sent explicit photos and messages to a supposed teenage girl before planning to sexually abuse her in person. This alleged attempt revealed the defendant's disturbing desire to repeatedly groom and exploit a vulnerable child. The FBI continues to protect minors from online sexual predators looking to fulfill their twisted wants," stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

As set forth in court filings, beginning in October 2025, acting on a tip from the Decoy Project, lnc., a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying and reporting online predators, a member of the FBI acting in an undercover capacity (the FBI UA) and posing as a 13-year-old girl named "Chloe," began communicating with Schuler on the social media platform Discord. During these almost daily communications, Schuler engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the FBI UA, including those in which the defendant talked about taking her virginity; masturbated during a video call; and sent her a photograph of his penis. On January 7, 2026, Schuler arranged to meet the FBI UA at Edward W. Cahill Memorial Park in Valley Stream, where upon his arrival, he was arrested by FBI agents. Schuler possessed a key to a motel room that he had rented earlier in the day so that he and the FBI UA could be alone. Law enforcement recovered spermicide, gifts for the FBI UA, and a laptop computer, among other items, from inside the motel room. A subsequent Court-authorized search of Schuler's electronics uncovered approximately 400 images and videos of child sexual abuse material.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices, 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.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the charges, Schuler faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.

The government's case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office's Long Island Division. Special Assistant United States Attorney James P. Scahill is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

PHILIP SCHULER
Age: 53
Port Jefferson, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 26-CR-77 (SJB)