Investigators say the teacher admitted to having child porn but denied ever inappropriately touching a child.
A teacher at a high school in Foxborough, Massachusetts, was arrested Thursday and charged with possession of child pornography and receiving child pornography over the internet, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
Thomas Davis, 41, of Mansfield, was charged with possession and receipt of child pornography, according to the FBI. He is currently on unpaid leave from his job at Foxborough High School.
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According to court documents, the FBI started investigating Davis early last month after a report that he showed a video to somebody that depicted him having sex with an underage student. That person told investigators that Davis claimed the boy was one of his students.
According to the FBI, law enforcement officials raided the Foxborough High School teacher's home Thursday and seized a laptop belonging to him. An on-site examination of the device revealed approximately 40 images of child pornography on the defendant’s laptop, including images involving children under the age of 12, according to the FBI.
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According to court documents, during an interview, Davis admitted that there was child pornography on his computer and gave law enforcement the password to his computer. But he denied "ever touching a child in a sexually inappropriate manner.” He claimed the young male in the video was 18 years old and they had met on a social media and dating app.
Investigators said they are still trying to identify the person seen on the video with Davis.
Davis was detained pending a probable cause and detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday in federal court.
According to the school's website, Davis is a special education teacher.
In a statement, school administrators called the allegations "disturbing." They said they plan to host a conference call with parents to answer any questions and listen to any concerns.
Davis also taught at Sharon Middle School, but left on his own three years ago.
