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Rye Neck High School Teacher Arrested On Child Pornography Charges

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Westchester County high school teacher was arrested Wednesday on child pornography charges.

Nicholas Pagliuca, 65, had no comment when he walked out of U.S. District Court in White Plains Wednesday after posting a bond of $50,000.

The U.S. Attorney's office alleged that Pagliuca, a longtime science teacher at Rye Neck High School in Mamaroneck, had registered in October 2012 for a subscription to a website used for trading child pornography images and videos. He allegedly downloaded hundreds of files, many of which showed prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity with adults or other children, prosecutors said.

Using the email address Pagliuca used to register with the site, agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and officers with the New York State Police confirmed his identity and found out he was a public high school teacher, prosecutors said.

Pagliuca was arrested Wednesday at his home in Somers, prosecutors said.

The Rye Neck School District said in a statement that Pagliuca has been let go, but Pagliuca also told a judge that he will resign.

"This was the first indication which we had of any possible activity of this nature, and at this time we have no reason to believe that any student has been exposed to misconduct or that any School District facilities have been misused or misappropriated," the school district said in a statement.

As a condition of his bail, Pagiluca was ordered to avoid children and is banned from using the internet or computers, CBS2's Lou Young reported.

A judge did allow Pagliuca to visit family in New Jersey for the holiday.

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