ASHLAND — A local man who is a middle school teacher in Needham was arrested Thursday night on child pornography charges after an investigation, authorities said.
Police arrested Michael R. Ciccolella, 47, at 8:45 p.m. at his Spyglass Hill home in Ashland after an “extensive investigation spanning several months,” according to a joint press release from Ashland Police Chief Cara Rossi and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
According to the release, the investigation was conducted by Ashland police, the Massachusetts State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the MetroWest Drug Taskforce. They obtained a search warrant for Ciccolella’s home, as well as an arrest warrant.
“The preliminary investigation suggests that the defendant viewed and distributed sexually explicit images of minors ranging from ages 3 to 12 years old using the online messaging applications Media Lab/Kik,” the release states.
Authorities said they also seized several other items that will be investigated and analyzed.
Needham Superintendent of Schools Daniel Gutekanst said in a prepared statement that Ciccolella is a teacher at High Rock Middle School, and that he has taught in Needham since 2008.
Gutekanst said Ciccolella has been placed on administrative leave. His access to the school building, grounds and digital files have been revoked.
“Law enforcement has no reason to believe that any High Rock or Needham Public Schools students were involved or harmed in any way,” the superintendent said in his statement.
Gutekanst added that school district officials will cooperate with police and will offering counseling services to students.
“Due to the disturbing nature of the charges, we encourage families to speak with their children and reassure them that they are safe at school,” he said.
According to Ciccolella’s LinkedIn page, he was an assistant soccer coach at Framingham State University from 2014 to 2018. He also earned a master’s degree in education degree there.
According to the page, he was a soccer coach for Steel Sports, a New Jersey-based youth sports organization, with leagues in Boston. A spokesman for Steel Sports said Ciccolella has not been involved with the organization since July 2023.
Police charged Ciccolella with possession of child pornography; distribution of materials depicting a nude child; and distribution of obscene material.
During Ciccolella’s arraignment Friday in Framingham District Court, Judge Michael Callahan ordered him held on $500,000 bail. If he posts bail, he is banned from having unsupervised contact with children younger than 18, is ordered to not use the internet and has been placed on house arrest with a GPS monitoring device.
Ciccolella’s lawyer, Corneilius Dailey Jr., could not be reached for comment on Friday. Ciccolella is due back in court on March 27 for a probable cause hearing.
