Ex-Brunswick Teacher Facing Child Porn Charges in NY

The former Brunswick School teacher who was at the nexus of a school investigation into allegations by former student that they were sexually abused by the teacher, has been arrested on child pornography possession charges in upstate New York.

According to reports, Timothy Tefft, 64, of upstate Greenwich, was indicted on three counts of possession of child pornography. The charges stem from information private investigators garnered during their investigation earlier this year into allegations from two former Brunswick students that Tefft abused them in the 1980s, according to The Glens Falls Post Star.

According to a statement from the FBI, which handled the investigation, "Tefft had his initial appearance and arraignment on the charges in Albany (Sept. 16) before the Honorable Christian F. Hummel, United States Magistrate Judge. Tefft was detained pending his trial, which has been scheduled for November 18, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. before Chief United States District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe."

The FBI also said, "According to the indictment, between January 1, 2010 and May 3, 2011, Tefft possessed three thumb drives, each of which contained images of child pornography."

Tefft faces up to 10 years of imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000 on each count, according to the FBI.

Back on May 1, in a letter from Brunswick Headmaster Thomas W. Philip and board of trustees chair Sanjeev Mehra, Tefft was identified as the former teacher at the center of an investigation that began in mid-February after a former student leveled allegations he was abused by a teacher from the private boys school. At the time, a Brunswick spokesman said the alleged abuse occurred off campus.

The school hired the law firm of Day, Pitney and the the New York City-based investigation firm of Kroll Associates to investigate the allegations.

In its May 1 statement, Brunswick announced, "As part of this investigation, representatives from Kroll located and interviewed Tefft. While Tefft denies the alleged abuse, over the course of hours of questioning he admitted many other details that, in the opinion of the investigators, lend credibility to the alumni’s accounts of sexual abuse.

"The School has reported the investigators’ findings to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, including those in the upstate New York locale in which Tefft resides. We are committed to doing whatever we can to see that justice is served."

According to The Saratogian newspaper, Tefft was the editor of his family-owned weekly newspaper The Greenwich Journal and Salem Press, was indicted Sept. 4.

Tefft has since resigned his editorial position and his 95-year-old mother was poised to shut down the newspaper as the family tried to arrange for legal defense of Tefft, according to the reports. On Sept. 17, it was announced the paper had been sold to a local businessman who will continue to publish the 171-year-old weekly in the town that's about 45 miles northeast of Albany, near the Vermont border.

Contacted Friday, Brunswick School spokesman Dan Griffin said, "Brunswick has no comment. The charges against Mr. Tefft at present, have nothing to do with Brunswick School. Our investigation concluded the present charges are recent and have nothing to do with Brunswick School."

Greenwich Police spokesman Lt. Kraig Gray said that the department attempted to contact the three alleged abuse victims but none would cooperate with police. "It was an investigation by a different agency … the allegations were in a different state, therefore nothing for us to do. I will not comment on another jurisdiction's investigation," Gray said.