Feds: Retired teacher charged in child porn case

Federal agents searched the home of a Bellmore man for child pornography and arrested him Wednesday after he confessed to downloading images and videos through a computer file-sharing program, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Alfonso Marino told agents he had child pornography on his computer and storage disks and that he had been collecting the pornography for 10 years, according to court documents. He said he retired last year as a night teacher at Flushing High School in Queens and also had worked as a suburban school bus driver from 2005 to 2010, federal officials said.

Marino, 63, of 2877 Alder Rd., pleaded not guilty in federal court to a charge of violating interstate and foreign commerce laws by receiving depictions of one or more minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He was held pending Friday's bail hearing.

But Marino told agents that he never touched any children, an assertion repeated by his court-appointed attorney.

He told agents that he retrieved images and videos, searching especially for children ages 7 to 18, according to an affidavit filed by Glenn Buchan, a Department of Homeland Security special agent assigned to investigate sexual exploitation of children.

Between early March and early April, agents searching for child pornography users traced a computer's IP address to Marino's home, according to court papers. That computer user reported to others that there were child pornography images available to be downloaded, court papers said.

A New York City schools spokeswoman said only that Marino was a substitute teacher for four days in May and June of last year.

Marino faces 5 to 20 years in prison if convicted.