Middleboro camp counselor arrested on child porn charges
Leon Dyer, seen here in his LinkedIn profile, has been arrested on two counts of possession of child pornography.
Leon Dyer, seen here in his LinkedIn profile, has been arrested on two counts of possession of child pornography.
MIDDLEBORO -- A Middleboro camp administrator and head counselor has been arrested on two counts of possession of child pornography, according to the Massachusetts State Police.
Leon Dyer, 45, was arrested July 25 by the Massachusetts State Police Cyber Crime Unit Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Crime Scene Services, and the Belmont Police Department
He had worked at Camp Avoda for more than 23 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He no longer works there, the camp said.
"The safety of our campers and staff is paramount,'' Camp Avoda said in a statement. "We are continuing to cooperate with the authorities and, including what was stated today publicly at the arraignment, there has been no indication, evidence, or accusation that he engaged in any inappropriate conduct with or involving campers. We also had no information or knowledge of Mr. Dyer’s conduct prior to his arrest this weekend.''
The camp noted that they "conduct annual background checks in advance of our summer season on all our employees according to Commonwealth requirements including Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system checks and Sexual offender Record Information (SORI) system checks.''
Dyer also works as a teacher at Belmont Middle School.
Dyer was arraigned Monday July 27 at Cambridge District Court. The judge set bail at $7,500 and ordered the defendant not to work or volunteer with anyone under 18 and to stay away from the school and camp where he worked.
He will return to court Sept. 17.
Parents seeking further resources were encouraged to reach out to the Middlesex Child Advocacy Center https://middlesexcac.org/
State Police said the case is actively being investigated and had no further comment.
