Complaint Review: Willie Cortes - New York

Unveiling Willie Cortès, A.K.A Wilbert Cortez's hidden music career while employed as a computer teacher in New York City Public schools:

Wilbert Cortez, a former computer teacher at P.S 184 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and P.S 174 in Rego Park, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sex abuse and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child back on February 25, 2015, in Queens County. Cortez was sentenced to 10 years probation and registered for life with the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services as a sex offender. 

Discoveries have surfaced of Wilbert Cortez, a.k.a Willie Cortés, writing songs about his victims from 1986 to 1996. One of the songs titled "Abuso Sexual” on his solo album named "De La Noche A La Manana” ignites questions targeting New York City’s inability to properly investigate sex offenses in Public schools and obtain what may be incriminating evidence against Cortez. Wilbert Cortez is a level 3 sex offender, rated as having a high probability of recommitting sexual offenses. Cortez's teaching career began in 1986 at PS 184, which raises concerns about exactly how many students Cortez may have sexually assaulted since the start of his career.

In March 2000, the special commissioner of investigation for the New York City School District, Edward F. Stancik, investigated Cortez for allegations of sexually molesting children and recommended that disciplinary action be taken against him. According to a law enforcement source, Police were not notified of the allegations.

In September 2000, Cortez was transferred to PS 174 Rego Park, Queens. When allegations of sexually molesting children resurfaced against Cortez at PS 174 in October 2011, Cortez was reassigned away from students to an office job, officials said.

According to a law enforcement source, police were notified of the allegations. In 2012, the New York Times they published an article that included a statement from former Mayor Bill De Blasio to Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott.

"I do not understand how the existence of previous inappropriate conduct does not trigger automatic, ongoing oversight; the absence of such actions by the Department of Education suggests negligent oversight and a failure of accountability,” Blasio wrote.

New York City’s schools Chancellor, Dennis M. Walcott, ordered a review of all cases of misconduct dating back to 2000 and pledged to remove any teachers who had engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior. Sources say Chancellor Walcott's decision not to investigate before 2000 prevented what would have been a very resourceful outcome in the investigation. Officials say this small piece of evidence had a high probability of leading to Cortez's arrest and conviction before teaching at PS 174.

Wilbert Cortez, whose stage name is Willie Cortés, is currently the owner of C&S Music Productions located in Rego Park, Queens. Reports show Cortez registered C&S music productions to his home address in Rego Park in 1996. Wilbert Cortez has been a resident at his Rego Park apartment since 1988. Sources say Cortez joined a musical band in the mid-1980s while employed at P.S 184. In the mid-1990s, Cortez began his solo career by releasing his first debut album, "De La Noche A La Manana,” 1996, composed of 9 tracks.

Twenty-eight years since the release of the song "Abuso Sexual” have passed, unveiling Wilbert Cortez and New York City's secret. Solid evidence of Wilbert Cortez has been hidden from court documents and police reports since 2012. Sources say the song "Abuso Sexual” has been available via multiple public domains on the internet since 1996. Many are questioning the integrity of New York City's justice system and the New York City Department of Education's ability to protect students in NYC public schools.

P.S 184 has a notoriety for being a school that has birthed several stars who started as teachers. Wilbert Cortez was one of the few to excel in his musical talents. From 1986 to 2000, for 14 years, Cortez composed music, danced, sang, played the conga drum, and taught computer science while employed at PS 184. According to sources, Cortez frequently promotes his music in school, telling students and teachers that his music is in stores. A recent discovery reveals evidence leading to Cortez sexually molesting students at P.S 184 from 1992 to 1994. Evidence shows Cortez taught both 3rd and 4th-grade computer science at P.S 184.

"Cortez music career was no secret; It was a cover-up,” sources say. Over a dozen Brownsville, Brooklyn community residents remember Cortez as a teacher and a singer. "I’m surprised the song itself, Abuso Sexual, wasn't a red flag,” one victim stated.

Sources say the principal, Jeanette Reed, and assistant principal, Jose Gutierrez, displayed no remorse for the victims at P.S. 184. The principal and assistant principal were aware of the allegations against Cortez. Several students at P.S. 184 reported allegations to school personnel about Cortez's sexual misconduct on multiple occasions, officials say. Students and parents made complaints about Cortez's sexual misconduct to school personnel, and no reports were made to the police. Sources say Jose Gutierrez and John Evbomenya were close friends and fans of Cortez's music while he was employed at PS 184. The Cortez music catalog is extensive and stored on old-school record vinyl in his home, sources say.

According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice, an executive summary by Governor Cuomo in 1984 provided statistics on missing children throughout New York City. During 1985, the Register received 17,232 reports of children missing from New York State. Of these, 30.1 percent were from New York City, 28.4 percent from Suburban New York City, and 41.5 percent from the balance of the State. Reports of missing preschool-aged children were rare, accounting for only 1.0 percent of cases statewide. Youths 6 to 12 comprised 14.0 percent of reported cases, while youths 13 to 15 accounted for 85.0 percent of reported cases. 12.7% of these cases remained inactive for over a year after being canceled on May 6, 1986.

This pattern suggests that, while the reporting volume is high, most cases are removed from the Register within the year. A relatively minor core of cases is not canceled; that is, these children remain missing. Unfortunately, the Register does not contain data on the number of canceled cases involving foul play. To put New York State's statistics in perspective, in 1985, the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer received 329,508 reports of missing "Juveniles." Three hundred twenty-one thousand one hundred sixty-seven missing Juvenile cases were canceled from NCIC in 1985, and 34,959 active missing Juvenile cases were on file on January 1, 1986.

Research analysis proves Cortez targeted young boys in NYC Public schools, ages ranging from 6 to 12 years old. Wilbert Cortez sexually preyed on children from 1986 to 2012, which is a total of 26 years at the New York City Department of Education, 14 years employed at PS 184, and 12 years employed at PS 174. Cortez has demonstrated peculiar behavior patterns in 26 years of working for the Department of Education. The way he touched his victims, the places he touched his victims, and the gender of his victims were all uniquely the same. Multiple news companies described these behavioral patterns back in 2012: NBC NY, CBS News, NY Post, QChron, NY Times, DNA Info, Newsday, IB Times, Patch, and New York Daily News.

Provided by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice and the special commissioner of investigation for the New York City School District, Wilbert Cortez's profile fits the description of a serial offender possibly linked as a potential suspect involving missing children from 1979 to 1989. According to a credible source, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified before this publication's release and will oversee all investigations of Wilbert Cortez. Any information regarding Wilbert Cortez, a.k.a. Willie Cortés, may be submitted to your local police department or district prosecutor's office, or you can submit your reports online at tips.fbi.gov

PS 184 Child Victim

9:06 pm EST August 2, 2024

LINKS- Copy and Paste

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/queens-school-teacher-arrested-sex-abuse-charges-wilbert-cortez-ps-174-rego-park/1972012/

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/wilbert-cortez-ps-174-teacher-accused-of-sexually-abusing-students-out-on-bail/

https://nypost.com/2012/02/16/queens-teacher-busted-on-student-sex-abuse-charges/

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/queens-da-brings-additional-sex-abuse-charges-against-teacher-wilbert-cortez/

https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/queens-teacher-charged-with-sexually-abusing-boys/

https://www.qchron.com/editions/central/former-rego-park-teacher-guilty-of-student-sex-abuse/article_ab02eb18-bea9-11e4-b6dc-8bffdbede22c.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/queens-computer-teacher-accused-of-sexually-abusing-young-male-students/

https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/new-charges-for-queens-teacher-accused-of-sex-abuse/

https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/queens-teacher-arrested-for-sex-abuse-was-also-investigated-in-2000-p94119

https://www.dnainfo.com/20120216/forest-hills-rego-park/queens-teacher-arrested-for-alleged-sex-abuse-at-ps-174/

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/education/walcott-vows-dismissal-of-anyone-sexually-abusing-students.html

https://www.ibtimes.com/wilbert-cortez-queens-elementary-school-teacher-arrested-sexual-abuse-412096

https://abc7.com/archive/8547209/

https://patch.com/new-york/foresthills/local-teacher-arrested-for-sex-abuse-of-students

https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/06/01/queens-computer-teacher-charged-with-groping-3-more-children/