On Friday authorities announced that Nicholas Skirkanich, 43, of Ridgefield, had been arrested Thursday and charged by federal criminal complaint with possession of child pornography.
Following his arrest, Skirkanich appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was released on a $150,000 bond to home detention under electronic monitoring.
Greenwich Schools director of communications Jonathan Supranowitz said in an email Friday afternoon that Skirkanich has been employed by GPS as a math teacher in Greenwich High School since 2002 and he was immediately been placed on administrative leave.
As alleged in court documents, in October 2022, an online service provider submitted a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) indicating that a TikTok video containing child sex abuse imagery was sent from Skirkanich’s email account to another email account. Subsequent investigation revealed that Skirkanich’s IP address and social media accounts were also used to facilitate Skirkanich’s possession of child pornography.
Possession of child pornography is an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the Ridgefield Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford with the assistance of the Danbury State’s Attorney’s Office.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
The charge was announced by Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Boston.