A Pennsbury School District teacher had more than 2,000 images of child porn on his iPhone, police say

A music teacher at the Pennsbury School District was charged Tuesday with child pornography after investigators discovered more than 2,000 explicit images of children on his cellphone, according to police.

Christopher Bygott, 47, of Hamilton, N.J., told detectives during an interview that he is “sick” and “had a problem,” when confronted with some of those images, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed for his arrest.

Bygott was released on $250,000 unsecured bail. Neither he nor his attorney, Mark Neff, responded to requests for comment Tuesday.

Detectives began their investigation into Bygott on Dec. 5, when they were referred to tips submitted online to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the affidavit said.

Those tips concerned a picture of two naked children, which was traced to an IP address belonging to the Pennsbury School District. Further investigation revealed that the images had been uploaded to an Amazon Photos account owned by Bygott.

On Dec. 13, Bygott agreed to be interviewed at Pennsbury High School East, according to the affidavit. During that conversation, Bygott admitted that his iPhone contained a large number of files, so many that he could not give detectives an exact count.

Upon examining the cellphone, detectives recovered more than 2,000 photos depicting children of various ages being sexually assaulted, the affidavit said. One of the images on the device matched the tip submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Bygott served for years as Pennsbury’s curricular coordinator for instrumental music, and was the director of the high school’s band. Pennsbury School District Superintendent Thomas Smith said in an email to parents Tuesday that Bygott has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, banned from all district property and activities, and told not to communicate with staff, students, or their families.

Bygott passed a full background check upon his hiring, Smith added.

“I understand that this news is troubling, and we encourage anyone who needs support or has concerns to reach out to their school administration or counselor at any time,” Smith wrote. “Our focus is on our students and ensuring they have access to the resources and support they need.”

The band, led by Bygott, had received attention in recent weeks for being selected to perform at the 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia.

Bygott is scheduled to appear before Magisterial District Judge Jan Vislosky for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 6.