The state Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Pleasantville principal accused of possessing more than 1,000 images of child pornography.
Edward Bonek's attorneys argued that their client should not have been held pending the outcome of his case.
Superior Court Judge Benjamin Podolnick called Bonek "a danger to the community" when he ordered him detained on first-degree child endangerment and official misconduct charges in August.
That Bonek allegedly had the images of child sexual abuse on his school district-issued laptop that he brought back and forth to work with him was "a tragic breach of the community trust," the judge said.
But attorney John Zarych argued that Bonek had never opened the files and believed they were adult pornography, not anything involving children.
"Of course we’re disappointed but we’re not deterred," Zarych said of the decision by the state's highest court. "We're working hard on the case. We have a number of options available to us, and we will proceed on one or more of those options shortly."
He said the burden on the defense is high once detention has been ordered.
"We and countless others in the community belive in Jim Bonek’s innocence," Zarych said, referring to his client by his nickname.
Bonek, who lives in Absecon, is currently in the Cape May County Justice Facility, where he was moved shortly after his detention hearing.
At that time, the defense filed an emergent appeal of the detention, which was rejected in September.
On Monday, the state Supreme Court's decision — which came last week — was made public.
Bonek is due back in court next week.
