A senior state parole officer who was arrested Tuesday on a child pornography charge is a former Island Trees little league coach, an official in the league confirmed.
James Blase Leone, 50, of Bethpage, admitted to officials Tuesday that he searched for “preteen hard-core” pornography on the Internet, and that he had downloaded 10-15 videos over the past year, according toNewsday.
Leone was involved in youth athletics and had served as a little league coach in Island Trees approximately six to eight years ago, the little league official told Patch.
Leone is a senior parole officer for the New York State Division of Parole, who oversees supervisors of paroled sex offenders. He is a former probation officer in New York City and worked for the city's child welfare bureau as a child abuse investigator, Newsday reported.
Leone made an initial court appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip. He was released on $500,000 bond and is limited to home confinement and subject to electronic monitoring, and his gun was confiscated. His next court date has not yet been determined.
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