Feds: Former Mamaroneck teacher had kiddie porn

By Richard Liebson
Journal News
February 3, 2015

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/02/feds-say-former-mamaroneck-teacher-kiddie-porn/22767067/

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A former Mamaroneck school teacher was arrested Friday, accused of buying mail-order child pornography which he had delivered to the school and then took home.

Lyle Kamlet, 62, of Mount Vernon is charged in a federal complaint with single counts of receiving child pornography and possessing child pornography. His arrest came after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office and U.S Postal Service inspectors.

Kamlet formerly worked at the Westchester Day School, a Jewish day school in Mamaroneck.

The head of the school, Rabbi Joshua Lookstein, declined to comment.

Authorities say that, from 2008 through 2010, Kamlet ordered a number of kiddie porn DVDs, some of which he had sent to the school where he had been employed. The six-page complaint does not say which school that is, only that it's in Mamaroneck.

"This arrest was the result of a search of his house that occurred a year and a half ago," Kamlet's lawyer, James Roth, said Monday. "We are going to vigorously contest these charges in court."

Roth would not say where his client had taught.

Investigators searched Kamlet's home in 2013 and seized a number of videos, along with home movies allegedly containing images of naked children.

According to the complaint, authorities began looking at Kamlet's activities after law enforcement officials in Canada searched a movie production company there, seizing hundreds of movies, including some child pornography.

Also seized was an electronic database of mail-order customers and information on what they ordered. The database showed that Kamlet apparently ordered 23 DVDs from the company between November 2008 and July 2010, with titles such as "Boy Fights XXVI: Buddy Brawl," "Skate Brats," and "Cutting Room Floor."

The complaint says the videos depict naked boys between ages 10 and 14 performing gymnastics, riding bicycles, wrestling, having pillow fights and engaging in other activities.

Kamlet admitted to investigators that he bought the videos, the complaint says, describing them "as his own personal sexual preference."

Home movies seized from his home, which authorities say Kamlet made, show boys in a locker room, changing out of swim trunks.

Kamlet was released on $100,000 bond after appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith in federal court in White Plains. He's scheduled to return to court Feb. 25.

If convicted, he faces between five and 20 years in prison on each count as well as fines of up to $250,000 for each charge.

Staff writer Jonathan Bandler contributed to this report.