By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
An elementary school teacher from a Detroit, Michigan suburb was released from federal court in Vermont on strict conditions Friday after he was charged with attempting to import child pornography into the United States at Franklin County.
A court-ordered search of the home of Martin D. Waskowski, 38, of Royal Oak, Mich. also on Friday morning uncovered five computers, five hard drives, and an iPad, records show. A preliminary review of one of the hard drives revealed more than 12,000 files that appear to be child pornography, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nolan said.
Nolan argued Waskowski should be detained pending trial, but a judge agreed to release him into the custody of his father, Martin Waskowski Sr. also of Royal Oak.
The U.S. Pretrial Services in Detroit will check his ankle monitoring device, Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle said during the hearing in U.S. District Court.
Doyle also ordered Waskowski to stay away from children under the age of 18. He is not to leave his father’s home except for certain specific times, including appointments for court, lawyers and doctors, Doyle said.
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in South Burlington reported it was called to the international border at Highgate Springs on Thursday due to an alert Customs and Border Protection received when Waskowski attempted to enter Vermont from Quebec, court records note.
The alert concerned Waskowski being linked to a suspected attempted sexual enticement of a child case, records show. He was referred for a secondary inspection. During that inspection a check of his cellphone uncovered possible evidence and Waskowski was taken into custody, records show.
Waskowski appeared briefly in federal court on Thursday to have the charges outlined by Doyle. The detention motion by the U.S. Attorney’s Office was continued until Friday.
During his interview at the border, Waskowski indicated he was a fourth-grade teacher and had been in education for about 10 years, Homeland Security Investigations said.
The East Pointe School District placed Waskowski on paid leave on Friday morning after learning about his arrest, a spokeswoman said. She said the school district will cooperate with Homeland Security and Michigan State Police.
School was in session this week, but Waskowski was listed as being on leave for 3 days from work, public records show. He was due back to work on Friday, records showed.