Retired St. John's Teacher Facing Child Porn Charges

Update, 5:15 p.m. Friday.

Arshad Majid, the attorney representing Thomas Bouklas, told Newsday that his client is charged with having only one image on his computer and denies any criminal intent.

"We believe this is a mistake and a misunderstanding," Majid said, adding that Bouklas voluntarily surrendered to police. 

Although retired, Bouklas was an assistant coach of the St. John's girls soccer team. The Diocese of Rockville Centre said he has been terminated pending the outcome of the investigation.

Originial story:

A retired teacher and former soccer coach at a West Islip Catholic high school has been arrested and charged with possessing child pornography, Suffolk County Police said on Friday.

Police are charging Thomas Bouklas, 64, with Possessing a Sexual Performance of a Child. He was taken into custody at the Seventh Precinct in Shirley and transported to First District Court in Central Islip.

According to police, an investigation by detectives in the Computer Crimes Unit found evidence that Bouklas had child pornography downloaded from the Internet on his computer. Bouklas is retired and taught and coached at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School, police said.

A search warrant was executed at his home on Arnold Street in Holbrook where computers, hard drives and assorted media were seized, police said.

In 2003, Newsday quoted Bouklas as saying he retired “pretty quietly” and did not want to make “a big deal out of it.”

He coached over three decades and his teams won 18 Catholic league titles and two New York State Catholic league championships in 1996 and 1998. His 1993 team finished 18-0.

"Just the ability to coach kids at this age is fun," Bouklas said in 2003. "It's the chance to get them at the developmental stage."