Teacher, Former Youth Director Arrested on Child Porn Charge Released

The 26-year-old Yeshiva teacher and rabbinical student accused of having hundreds of images showing child pornography has been released on bail, according to federal court records.

Evan Zauder, of New York City, was suspended from his position as a middle school teacher at Yeshivat Noam in Paramus after on his bedroom computer last week, school officials and federal authorities have said.

Zauder was released on $2 million bail and must remain within areas of New York and New Jersey, court records show. He was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children and his computer use will be monitored.

Acting on a tip, FBI agents went to his New York apartment and found the graphic videos on Zauder's computer showing young boys engaged in sex acts, an FBI agent wrote in a sworn complaint. One video found on Zauder's computer showed a boy potentially as young as 7-years-old, according to the complaint.

News of Zauder’s arrest spread quickly across the area’s Jewish community and prompted a flurry of public statements from past employers and schools. Zauder was a former youth director at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck and a former part-time youth director at Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in New York City.

Yeshivat Noam Principal Rabbi Chaim Hagler told parents there was no reason to believe its students were involved or directly affected, according to an e-mail to parents obtained by Patch.

According to a report in The Jewish Week, an online screen name linked to Zauder appeared on several pornographic websites as well as on a forum used by Teaneck Youth Directors.

Zauder could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

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