The vice president of a central New York school board has resigned following his arrest on federal child pornography charges and state child endangerment counts — capping a turbulent week for the Cazenovia Central School District and the community it serves.
Travis J. Longo, 46, who also goes by Travis Barr, was arrested on Wednesday (June 18) after investigators recovered child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on his iPhone 17 Pro Max. According to a federal criminal complaint, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security — trained by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force — uncovered one photo and three videos of CSAM on Longo’s device. The complaint states the child depicted in the photo appears to be between five and seven years old, while the three videos depict infants.
Longo also faces four state counts of endangering the welfare of a child after New York State Police found he “engaged in a pattern of sexually explicit communications with a child under the age of 12.” Investigators also found chat messages on his phone in which he allegedly expressed sexual interest in children, including a male child he knew personally, and shared those messages with others.
Longo was elected to a three-year term on the Cazenovia Board of Education in 2024 and served as its vice president. He had publicly identified himself as the first drag queen elected to a public school board. He also founded Cazenovia Pride, a local LGBTQ organization.
Following the arrest, the school board unanimously demanded Longo’s resignation and set a deadline of noon on Monday (June 22). Longo did not meet that deadline, prompting the board to vote Monday night to begin formal administrative removal proceedings — a state-mandated process that includes a mandatory 10-day waiting period before a hearing can take place. The board cannot instantly remove Longo because his seat is an elected position.
However, Longo submitted his resignation Tuesday (June 23) morning — after Monday night’s special meeting had already been convened to file formal charges against him. “Our school has been betrayed as much as any other organization in our community with which he was involved,” the board said in a statement.
If convicted on the federal charges, Longo could face up to 20 years in prison and would be required to register as a sex offender. The case remains under investigation, and additional charges are possible.
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