Needham middle school teacher arrested on child porn charges
Ciccolella is a social studies teacher at High Rock Middle School, according to
Also on Friday, Ciccolella was placed on administrative leave, barred from school grounds, and his access to digital files was removed, Needham Public Schools Superintendent Dan Gutekanst said in an emailed
'Law enforcement has no reason to believe that any High Rock or Needham Public Schools students were involved or harmed in any way,' the statement said.
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Ciccolella has been a teacher in Needham since 2008, Gutekanst said.
'The safety and wellbeing of our students is always the district's top priority, and we will cooperate with all law enforcement agencies as the investigation continues,' Gutekanst wrote. 'Due to the disturbing nature of the charges, we encourage families to speak with their children and reassure them that they are safe at school.'
The district will be offering counseling services to students and staff, the statement said.
According to
After a months long investigation, investigators went to Ciccolella's home on Spyglass Hill Thursday with search and arrest warrants and took him into custody at 8:45 p.m., prosecutors said.
Ciccolella allegedly used an online messaging application called Media Lab/Kik to view and distribute sexually explicit images of children ages 3 to 12, Ryan's office said.
Investigators seized multiple pieces of evidence from Ciccolella's residence for analysis, authorities said.
Ciccolella's arrest was a joint effort between the criminal investigations unit and patrol division at the Ashland Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Metrowest Drug Taskforce, prosecutors said.
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