BELMONT, MASS. (WHDH) - A Belmont teacher and counselor at an overnight camp was arrested and is accused of having child sexual abuse material on his computer and phone.
Leon Dyer, 45, appeared in court on Monday.
“My mouth dropped!” Rodmina Abellard said, a former student. “Me and my little sister, we both went to Chenery, and we both were in disbelief. We were like, ‘What?'”
Abellard said Dyer was her technology education teacher. Court documents reveal he was also an athletics manager at Belmont High School.
“He was chill, laid back, taught us a lot,” Abellard said. “I didn’t feel anything weird about him. He was just a good guy.”
The prosecutor explained Google flagged Dyer’s activity in January and alerted law enforcement.
“Initially he did tell police his devices had been hacked and filed a police report to that effect, but then when he was shown the details of the ongoing investigation and evidence state police had, he did admit to downloading the images,” Prosecutor Jacqueline McCormick said.
Authorities said the case is especially concerning because of Dyer’s access to children. Not only at Belmont schools, but he spent 23-summers as a counselor at a boys’ camp in Middleboro. He also lives across from an elementary school.
“There’s no indication there are pictures of any of the children from any of the schools, any of the camps, anything he was involved with,” said Richard Sweeney, defense attorney.
His defense team insists that none of the children in his care were victimized. Dyer posted bail and left court without saying a word.
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