Former teacher arrested on child porn charges   Associated Press August 3, 2005 NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A retired Westport middle school teacher inadvertently left a CD full of child pornography, including what appear to be lewd pictures of schoolchildren, in a computer he borrowed from a neighbor, federal investigators said Wednesday. Paul Held, 67, a former teacher at Bedford Middle School, was arrested at his home in Westport Tuesday on federal charges of possession and distribution of child pornography and is being held without bond. Held left thousands of sexual images of children as young as 2 years old on a laptop he borrowed last fall from a neighbor who lived near Held's second home in Danby, Vt., according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. "Some of the photographs also appeared to have been taken underneath school desks of unsuspecting female adolescents who were wearing skirts and dresses," Jolinda L. Wnuk, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, wrote in an affidavit. Investigators said Held admitted taking some explicit pictures of children at his home but the affidavit does not say whether Held is suspected of photographing of his students. Investigators were reviewing thousands of other pornographic items seized from Held's house. "After examining the seized items, the federal government may bring additional charges against Mr. Held," U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said. Held, who has not entered a plea in the case, retired from teaching after 2003, according to court records. Messages were left with Westport school officials. "At this point, it's being viewed as a family tragedy and they're going to look at all professional recourse available to him," Held's attorney, William B. Westcott, said. "Not just the legal profession but other professions that can help him deal with all these circumstances." Westcott said he did not know whether investigators have evidence that Held took pictures of his students. "I've only read what you read," he said. Held was accused and acquitted of inappropriately touching a female sixth-grader in 2002. During the raid on Held's home Tuesday, investigators seized hundreds of discs, several computers, videotapes and magazines. Some images contained 2- and 3-year-old children engaging in sexually explicit activities, investigators said. Held also confessed to taking at least four explicit pictures of children at his home, one of whom was about 4 years old, investigators said. The neighbor who loaned Held the laptop confronted him in a recorded phone conversation, investigators said, and he acknowledged leaving a CD full of pornography that "can get a fellow some years in jail," Wnuk wrote. "Held admitted to agents that these images belonged to him and, although law enforcement obviously has not yet been able to view all of the images, Held has stated that he possesses 'billions' of these images," Wnuk wrote. http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-03182905.apds.m0557.bc-ct--tea caug03,0,6528234.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire Back To Guvment Skool Page 8 COPYRIGHT "DUHMAG.COM" 2005