Kathleen “Kat” Capitano. (Fairfax County Police)
A North Carolina teacher is accused of traveling to a Herndon, Virginia, hotel to sexually assault a 13-year-old boy she met while she was a student teacher there, according to police.
Kathleen Antonina Capitano, 24, was arrested by Fairfax County Police and the FBI on Saturday and charged with four felony counts of use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children under 15 years of age, police said in a press release.
Capitano pleaded guilty to several charges in October 2016 and was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017, according to the Fairfax County court clerk’s office.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. She Had a ‘Physical Relationship’ With the Student While She Was Teaching in Virginia & Then Exposed Herself to Him Online, Police Say
Kathleen “Kat” Capitano. (Facebook)
Police say Kathleen Capitano had previously been in a “physical relationship” with the 13-year-old boy, who she met in 2015 when he was a 12-year-old student in Herndon, Virginia, the Associated Press reports. She was working a student teacher at Coates Elementary School, at the time, police said.
According to police, Capitano arrived at the hotel at about 1 p.m., “with the apparent intent of meeting a 13-year-old boy for the purposes of engaging in sex.”
“Unbeknownst to Capitano, law enforcement authorities had been alerted to her online activity and were waiting for her; she was taken into custody. Detectives met with the child and his parents prior to Capitano’s arrival in Fairfax County,” the Fairfax County Police Department said in a press release.
According to warrants, Capitano exposed her genitals to the victim at least four times between January 2015 and February 2016 during online interactions, WNCN-TV reports.
2. She Is a Video Gamer Who Goes by the Name ‘InitiatedKitten’ Online & Appeared to Be Talking to a Student on Google+
Kat Capitano is a video gamer who uses the nickname “InitiatedKitten” on Xbox and elsewhere online, according to her YouTube page.
She has posted videos showing her opening gaming-related items she ordered online, along with videos showing her singing.
On her Google+ page she wrote, “Normal is boring, weird is fun, no worries, and life goes on,” as her tagline. It appears she was communicating with a former Fairfax County student on the Google+ page.
(Google+)
In September she tagged a student in a post saying, “how was your first day love??” The student replied, “fun with friends but to damn early.. so goodnight and have sweet slexy dreams ;).” She replied, “Love you glad it was fun :) tell me more about who is in your classes tomorrow!”
In another post, Capitano wrote, “Ugh my heart is breaking.” When the student asked why, she wrote, “Because I’ve got 2 months until I have to leave :-( and I will miss you all so much…” When the student asked why she couldn’t stay, she wrote, “Because I don’t like living in VA. It’s kinda torture for me. You all are the only good thing in VA right now.”
During another conversation she wrote, “Oh I heard a rumor the other day. … That you’ve got a crush on the red headed sub and that you only like talking to me because you think I’m pretty… I heard it from a couple different people. I was starting to think that maybe that was why you stopped talking to me lol.”
3. She Was Fired From Her Job a Math Teacher at the North Carolina Middle School
Kathleen “Kat” Capitano. (Facebook)
Capitano was a sixth grade math teacher at Shallotte Middle School in North Carolina, according to her Facebook page. She was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, the Brunswick County school district told WNCN-TV.
“I provide an inviting classroom environment with clear expectations and specific academic and behavioral goals, promote positive behaviors and attitudes by modeling the qualities of good character (respect, support, and personal integrity) both with colleagues and students,” she wrote on her Linkedin page.
She was then fired from her job after pleading guilty in October 2016.
4. She Graduated From George Mason University & Previously Worked as a Babysitter & Private Tutor
Kathleen “Kat” Capitano. (Facebook)
Kat Capitano is originally from McLean, Virginia, according to her Facebook page. She graduated from George Mason University in Virginia in 2013 with undergraduate degree in elementary education and in 2015 with a master’s degree in education, her LinkedIn page says.
She was a student teacher in the Fairfax County school district through a program run by George Mason, she wrote on Linkedin. It was while in that program she met the victim, police said.
(Facebook)
“I work through George Mason University as a substitute teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools at Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School. My responsibilities include substitute teaching for grades K-6 from administering assessments made by the homeroom teacher to following the teacher’s lesson plan to ensure that students are kept busy with meaningful activities,” she wrote about her time in the program.
Capitano was also a private tutor and a babysitter, through Care.com, during her time at George Mason. From 2010 to 2011 she volunteered as a primary teacher at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Seminaries and Institutes of Religion.
“I taught 4 five year-olds and 6 four year-olds every Sunday. I taught reading, writing, crafts, songs, and provided fun activities regarding our topic of discussion,” she wrote on Linkedin.
She graduated from McLean High School in 2009.
5. She Was Sentenced to a Total of 20 Years in Prison & Will Have to Serve 7 Years
Kathleen “Kat” Capitano. (Facebook)
Capitano was held without bond until she entered her guilty plea. She is currently at the Fairfax County Detention Center where she will be serving seven years of a 20-year sentence, according to the county court clerk’s office.
According to the clerk’s office, Capitano pleaded guilty to using a computer to solicit a minor and three counts of indecent liberties with a child under the age of 15. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the solicitation charge, with 5 years suspended. On two of the indecent liberties with a child charges she was sentenced to five years in prison, with four years suspended. On the third indecent liberties charge, she was sentenced to five years in prison with all five years suspended. The sentences are all set to run consecutively, meaning she will be serving a total of seven years in prison.
The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation Task Force assisted in the investigation, but she was not charged in federal court.
