CARTERET — He's been an educator in the Carteret school system for 21 years, working as a middle-school history teacher in the 1990s and even creating live American Civil War re-enactments on a field near Carteret Avenue for groups of rapt seventh graders.

More recently, Nicholas G. Sysock has served as a Carteret High School vice principal, a post that paid him $126,204 in 2011, according to public records.

Today, the 53-year-old man sat quietly behind a defense table in a Newark courtroom, his hands cuffed in front of him, his lips clenched, as he faced a charge of possession of child pornography that, upon conviction, would carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. During the morning hours, authorities said, the Rahway resident was picked up by federal agents who rifled through his home searching, warrant in hand, for evidence of child pornography.

As reports flashed across NJ.com today of Sysock’s arrest and court appearance, some of those claiming to be his former students reacted in the "reader comments" section with angst and surprise.

Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman issued a statement in which he said, in part, "I was shocked and appalled by the reports this evening of the arrest of Carteret High School Vice-Principal Nicholas Sysock … I applaud the Board of Education and school administration for swift action in immediately suspending him and barring him from school grounds."

The mayor added, "Mr. Sysock should immediately resign his position within the Carteret school system and in the absence of such a resignation, the Board of Education should take whatever action necessary to terminate his employment."

In an e-mail sent tonight, Schools Superintendent Kevin W. Ahearn said that "the school district will take all possible measures not only to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney, but also to internally review this issue and ensure that no other Carteret staff members or students were affected by this matter."

In a federal complaint filed with U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz today in Newark, a U.S. Postal Inspector alleges that between May 15, 2008 and March 17, 2011, Sysock purchased multiple products, including DVDs, photo CDs and written materials, from a foreign movie production company known to produce and distribute child pornography.

Near the end of the complaint, the federal agent also claims that Sysock admitted today, during and after the search of his home, that he’d purchased four child porn DVDs — and that he’d downloaded and printed child porn images from a website, before then locking the papers away in a desk drawer.

The complaint also offers seven graphic descriptions of child pornography and sexually-charged activity allegedly depicted on the DVDs and printouts. The DVDs feature scenes such as two prepubescent boys pulling black trash bags off their bodies so they are naked as they walk together into an inflatable pool, just before they wrestle — genitals exposed — in substances such as chocolate syrup, whip cream and flour.

During a 20-minute court appearance before Judge Shwartz, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Eskew argued that Sysock must be detained in jail for several days this week, in order to give investigators time to uncover more about a "handwritten note" allegedly found in Sysock’s home that, Eskew said, may indicate he’s a "danger to the community."

Despite equally passionate arguments by Sysock’s public defender against the detention, Shwartz ordered Sysock held in jail until a full hearing on his detention Thursday.

The contents of the "handwritten note" were not disclosed during the hearing, as lawyers and Shwartz alluded to the fact that doing so may reveal the identity of an underage person.

In granting the immediate detention of Sysock — who has no criminal record, according to his lawyer — Shwartz noted that the alleged felony involves minor victims.

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