Melville, NY - April 25, 2017 - Suffolk County Police on Monday, April 24, 2017 at 7 a.m. arrested a Kenwal Day Camp counselor after he endangered the welfare of campers last summer and disseminated indecent material to minors.
Following an investigation by Computer Crimes Unit detectives, the FBI Long Island Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Jay Marcello was arrested for having inappropriate verbal conversations with campers of various ages and inappropriately touching 14-year-old campers between July and August 2016. Marcello has been employed as a camp counselor at the camp, located at 100 Drexel Ave. in Melville, for the past seven years. Marcello was arrested at Sand Hill Road and Wantagh Avenue in Wantagh at 7 a.m. as he was driving to Nassau County BOCES Rosemary Kennedy Center in Wantagh where he is employed as a substitute teaching assistant.
This investigation was launched after the October 2016 indictment of Keith Meyn, an employee of Kenwal Day Camp. Meyn was charged with Criminal Sexual Act 1st Degree, Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance as a Sexually Motivated Felony, Sexual Abuse 1st Degree, Endangering the Welfare of a Child and 100 counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child.
Marcello, 25, of Wantagh, was charged with eight counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, two counts of Sex Abuse 3rd Degree and one count of Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors 1st Degree, a felony. He will be held overnight at the Second Precinct for arraignment tomorrow at First District Court in Central Islip.
The investigation is continuing and detectives believe there may be additional victims. Anyone who may be a victim or have information about this case is asked to call the Computer Crimes Unit at 631-852-6279. All calls will be kept confidential.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.