GARFIELD, N.J.—A city resident who works as a teacher at Tenafly’s Ralph S. Maugham Elementary School was arrested on a child pornography charge last week, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed.
Pasquale Bernaldo-Antonelli, 42, of Garfield, is charged with possession of child pornography, a third degree crime, Bergen County Sheriff’s Department records show.
The prosecutor’s office said Bernaldo-Antonelli was arrested Oct. 10 in connection to a months-long Internet child pornography investigation.
“The investigation revealed that [Bernaldo-Antonelli] used the Internet to view, download, or possess approximately 60 digital files depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The Tenafly Public Schools website says Bernaldo-Antonelli teaches fifth grade.
According to published reports, Tenafly Superintendent of Schools Shauna DeMarco—declining to identify the teacher by name—said a teacher had been suspended after being arrested on a criminal charge. A replacement will be named, and the district will be meeting with parents and guardians of the students affected, DeMarco said, according to the report.
Bernaldo-Antonelli was released from Bergen County Jail on Oct. 11, sheriff’s department records show.