Court docket particulars – NBC Boston
A center college trainer in Needham, Massachusetts, has been arrested on little one pornography prices, accused of importing scores of movies depicting the sexual abuse of kids as younger as three.
Michael Ciccolella, an Ashland man who’s been suspended from educating at Excessive Rock Center College, can be accused of posing as a 13-year-old on-line, prosecutors stated in Framingham District Court docket Friday, as he was arraigned on prices of possessing little one pornography, distributing obscene materials and distributing materials depicting a nude little one.
A not responsible plea was entered on Ciccolella’s behalf. Prosecutors had requested for bail of $100,000, and Ciccolella’s lawyer $5,000, however Choose Michael Callahan set it at $500,000.
“Regulation enforcement has no purpose to consider that any Excessive Rock or Needham Public Colleges college students have been concerned or harmed in any means,” Superintendent Daniel Gutekanst stated in an announcement.
Sources for victims of sexual assault can be found by way of the Nationwide Sexual Violence Sources Middle and the Nationwide Sexual Assault Phone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts gives this record of statewide and sources for sexual assault survivors.
Ashland and state police arrested Ciccolella Thursday evening at a house on Spyglass Hill, Middlesex District Legal professional Marian Ryan and Ashland Chief of Police Cara Rossi stated. Their investigation remained ongoing as of Friday.
In courtroom, a prosecutor defined that the investigation started with photographs uploaded to the messaging app Kik “that system that contained sexually specific materials together with abuse of kids,” depicting adults raping kids, some in conditions involving bondage, between the ages of about 3 and 12.
The system that uploaded the pictures, 168 movies, was traced to Ciccolella’s home. The prosecutor famous that a number of the movies haven’t beforehand been recognized by investigators earlier than, suggesting they “might have been do-it-yourself.”
Ciccolella shook his head in obvious disbelief and disagreement at that remark.
The trainer additionally allegedly despatched greater than 5,000 messages on an app whereas posing as a 13-year-old who was all in favour of college, theater and soccer — prosecutors had famous that Ciccolella can be a soccer coach, and stated he’d admitted to investigators that he’d posed as a teen on-line.
Ciccolella is due again in courtroom on March 27.
After Ciccolella’s arrest, Needham faculties Superintendent Gutekanst stated in a message to the neighborhood, the trainer, who’s been with the district since 2008, was instantly positioned on go away and banned from district property. Counseling shall be offered to college students and workers and extra sources shared with households to assist assist their youngsters.
“The protection and wellbeing of our college students is at all times the district’s high precedence, and we are going to cooperate with all regulation enforcement businesses because the investigation continues,” he wrote. “As a result of disturbing nature of the costs, we encourage households to talk with their kids and reassure them that they’re secure in school.”
After Friday’s listening to, his 19-year-old son Jordan Chicolella, who instructed reporters he was there to assist his household and that his father had by no means abused him, was requested if he thought his father did what he’d been accused of.
“I will go away that as much as the courtroom,” he stated.
