Hamlet of Wallkill woman charged with child endangerment in Pine Bush case

A Wallkill woman who once worked in the Pine Bush school system was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after a joint investigation pulled together Crawford Town Police, the Pine Bush Central School District, the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

The misdemeanor complaint says Gina Modafferi is accused of repeated contact with a victim younger than 17 between Dec. 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. The allegations include kissing the teen on several occasions, providing marijuana vape pens, smoking marijuana with the teen about 10 to 20 times and supplying marijuana blunt wraps. Police have charged her with endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor under New York law.

Court records described in the reporting show Modafferi was arraigned through the Orange County Centralized Arraignment Part before Middletown City Court Judge Brockett. She was released on her own recognizance, and an order of protection was issued. She was also scheduled to appear in Crawford Justice Court on June 18.

The Pine Bush Central School District said in a June 4 statement that it had acted after learning of the arrest of a former school social worker, though the district said it was constrained by law from discussing specific details about the former employee. News 12 reported that the district took immediate action after learning of the allegations. The same reporting said Modafferi denied the allegations in a phone call with the reporter.

That coverage also identified a Pine Bush High School staff listing for Gina Modafferi-Capucilli, a variation of the name used by police. News 12 said Modafferi had described herself in a public fundraiser as a school social worker who helped students obtain clothing and hygiene products.

For Pine Bush families, the case ties together two of the most sensitive issues a school district can face: child safety and drug exposure. The involvement of local police, the district, a federal task force and county prosecutors suggests the complaint moved quickly from school-side concern to a coordinated criminal investigation, a path Orange County parents will recognize as the kind used when officials believe a student’s safety may be at risk.

The charge remains an allegation, but the case already has immediate consequences for the district and the community, where school trust, student protection and law-enforcement response are now closely linked.