A New York school board vice president and drag performer has been arrested on allegations involving child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit communications with a child. New York State Police arrested…

A New York school board vice president and drag performer has been arrested on allegations involving child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit communications with a child.

New York State Police arrested 46-year-old Travis Longo of Cazenovia on June 18. According to police, Longo was charged with four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child after investigators said he had engaged in a pattern of sexually explicit communications with a child under the age of 12.

Two days later, federal prosecutors announced additional charges. According to a Department of Justice release, investigators searched Longo’s phone after his arrest and allegedly found numerous images and videos of child pornography. Prosecutors said some of the material included videos depicting the sexual abuse of infants, which Longo allegedly received through an internet-based messaging app.

Longo was then charged federally with receiving and possessing child pornography.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sarcone said the allegations were especially serious because of Longo’s role on the school board.

“As school board vice president, the defendant was entrusted by parents and the community to help protect and serve the interests of children. Instead, as alleged, he exploited his position of public trust while actively seeking out and accumulating images and videos depicting the heinous sexual abuse of children,” Sarcone said.

“This shocking betrayal makes his conduct all the more reprehensible. Thanks to the great investigative work of HSI and the New York State Police, he is now behind bars where he belongs and where my office will work tirelessly to ensure he stays for a long time,” he added.

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Homeland Security Investigations Buffalo Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone said the allegations strike directly at parental fears and trust.

“For HSI Syracuse and our law enforcement partners, protecting children is not just a duty — it’s personal,” Patrone said.

Longo is being held without bail. According to WHAM-TV, Judge Miroslav Lovric said the government had met its burden in arguing that Longo posed both a flight risk and a danger to the community.

“The government is correct that there are two presumptions… one is you’re a risk of flight and that you would continue to be a danger to the community if released,” Lovric said. “I do find that both of these presumptions apply in this case.”

The Cazenovia school board later said in a statement that the district had been deeply harmed by the allegations.

“Our school has been betrayed as much as any other organization in our community with which he was involved,” the board wrote in a statement posted on the district’s website.

The board also noted that it had to wait for Longo to resign before it could move to remove him from his seat.

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“Travis became VP while still on good terms with his fellow board members under the guise of representation and goodwill,” the statement said.

The arrest has shaken the local community, where Longo had been known not only as a school board member but also as a visible figure in LGBTQ advocacy. He founded Cazenovia Pride Fest, an event that has now been canceled. According to WSYR-TV, the organization Longo founded has also shut down.

District resident Roxanne Grime told WSTM-TV that many children in the area knew Longo personally.

“A lot of kids knew him personally,” Grime said. “He was a mentor in the LGBTQ community here and the kids know him. They’re scared. They’re confused because they knew him personally and it’s scary trying to explain to them that monsters hide in plain sight and sometimes you don’t know.”

Longo’s public profile had grown in recent years. In November, he appeared at Colgate University, where he spoke about drag, identity and representation. According to The Colgate Maroon-News, Longo said his drag career had opened doors for him.

“Drag is all about tearing down social norms,” he said. “None of it is real. We are subscribing to these things, and I find such joy in doing that.”

He also said he hoped living openly would encourage young people who felt unsupported.

“I like to think that by me just living my life openly and authentically is giving our youth and other people that might not feel supported in a way where they can speak up for themselves, that might give them the courage they might need to do that for themselves,” Longo said.

At the time, Anna Hooper, program coordinator for Colgate’s Center for Women’s Studies, praised Longo’s work in rural LGBTQ spaces.

“Travis’s efforts are transcendent and extensive — from serving as the VP of Cazenovia’s school board to creating safe spaces through H. Grey Supply Co. and Cazenovia Pride, his impact cannot be measured,” Hooper said.

Those remarks now stand in sharp contrast to the allegations against him. For Cazenovia families, the case is not just another criminal charge. It involves someone who held public trust, worked around children, and built a reputation as a community advocate. That is why the fallout has been so intense, and why local officials are now trying to distance the school district and community organizations from him as the criminal case moves forward.

The Western Journal