The Pleasantville High School principal jailed last year on child pornography charges pleaded guilty Wednesday.
Edward Bonek, 50, has been jailed nearly 16 months, after investigators found more than 1,000 images of child sexual abuse on his computer.
"Did you download images of children under the age of 18 engaged in a prohibited sexual act?" attorney Brenden Shur asked Bonek.
The Absecon man shook his head slightly as Shur spoke then waited a few seconds before answering, "Yes," and then again giving a slight headshake no.
He now faces eight years in prison for distribution of child pornography. He would have to serve at least five years. A concurrent sentence for the weapons charge would be five years must serve 3½ years under the Graves Act.
"As an educator and a principal, Ed Bonek was charged with the responsibility of protecting children," Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said in a news release. "Instead, he used his school-issued computer to exploit children through his possession and distribution of child pornography. Children are among the most vulnerable victims in our society, and it is almost inconceivable that a predator, in the form of a high school principal, had access to potential victims every day he reported for duty. I am outraged by the continuous assault upon the children in our community." The Absecon man is accused of using the peer-to-peer file-sharing network BitTorrent to share the images.
Bonek's attorneys previously said he believed the files he downloaded to his school-issued laptop was pornography involving adults. He told investigators he never opened the files.After being denied release at a detention hearing in August 2018, his attorneys appealed and were denied.
Bonek also must register as a Megan's law offender, and is subject to lifetime supervision.
