Crime & Safety

Police: School Custodian Charged With Child Porn Possession

Shawn Mead, of Patchogue, a custodian at a Sayville elementary school is arrested Tuesday, police say.

A Patchogue man working at a Sayville school district elementary school as a custodian is under arrest for allegedly possessing child pornography, police said. 

Shawn Mead, 44, a custodian at Lincoln Avenue Elementary, was found to be in possession of numerous pornographic digital images that included videos and photos of young children engaged in sexual activity, police said. 

The arrest, according to police, came after the unit conducted an undercover investigation into individuals trading child pornography online. Police said Mead turned himself into police about 12:25 a.m. Tuesday at the in Patchogue.

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Mead was arrested and charged with one count of possessing a sexual performance by a child, according to police. After being held overnight at the precinct, police said he is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip Tuesday. 

Mead has been suspended with pay, according to John Belmonte, Sayville assistant superintendent for business, who said Suffolk Police did not contact the district about the arrest until mid-morning Tuesday. According to FindtheData.com website, Mead earned a salary of $66,915 as of 2011. 

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“A this point we know little, except child porn was found on his home computer according to the police, and there doesn’t seem to be any involvement with any Lincoln Avenue school children," Belmonte told Patch. "It was all Internet downloads from what we have been told."

Mead's brother, Kevin, was in a drunk driving crash in 2010. A Nesconset man is serving 4 to 12 years in prison stemming from the crash that killed the 26-year-old Patchogue man. 


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