DUNELLEN, NJ–The president of the Dunellen Board of Education, 67-year-old Phillip C. Heiney, was arrested early on the morning of August 23 for child pornography, according to authorities.
Heiney, who also represents Dunellen’s school district on the board of the Educational Services Commission of NJ, faces charges for allegedly distributing child pornography on a peer-to-peer sharing network.
Heiney was charged with second-degree distribution of child pornography and third-degree of possesion of child pornography.
The records department at the county jail confirmed that Heiney had been bailed out at the cost of $75,000 on August 24, after just one night at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center.
He has been on the board for decades, and served as President of the Board as long ago as 1993, according to an article in the Star-Ledger from that year.
Heiney has not resigned his position on the board, and the district’s website still lists him as Board President, with his term set to expire at the end of 2017.
“It’s appalling that a man who leads his local school board and holds himself out as being concerned about young students would allegedly participate in the depraved sexual exploitation of innocent children by viewing and distributing child pornography online,” said Attorney General Christopher Porrino.
“Anyone who would commit such crimes belongs in prison, not in our schools.”
According to his personal disclosure statement, he has been an employee at Green Brook Electronics, and owns at least part of a company that shares his home address: HCP Systems, Inc.
According to the Attorney General, investigators found pictures and videos of child pornography on his computer including two where it showed ” an adult male engaging in a sexual act on a preupubescent girl who was blindfolded and bound with a rope” and a ” sexually explicit conduct involving a dog and the bound girl.”
“While it can be shocking that the president of a school board would allegedly share and view despicable videos and images of child pornography and bestiality, the parents, teachers, students and staff can take some solace in this arrest,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
“Heinous acts like those alleged in this case only strengthen our resolve to root out those who peddle smut on the Internet.”
Investigators seized various computer equipment in his residence, and those items were taken to the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory located in Hamilton for further investigation.
Authorities ask that anyone with imformation reguarding the distribution of child pornography on the Internet – or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children online or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to please cal the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tip line at 888-648-6007.
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