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A suspended Roosevelt school district official, who has previously said that he had been fired as principal of Bellport High School for refusing to inflate the grades of a star football player, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a child pornography charge.

Kevin O'Connell, 54, of Patchogue took the plea at federal court in Central Islip in front of U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler.

O'Connell's attorney, Glenn Obedin of Central Islip, had no comment afterward.

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Eastern District federal prosecutor Allen Bode said in court that the crime involved children between the ages of about 10 to 12 years who were engaged in sexual conduct.

According to court records, O'Connell told federal http://www.mojopages.com/biz/best-long-island-home-inspections-mineola-ny/23725334 monitoring and barred from contact with anyone younger than 16.

O'Connell also was suspended without pay from the Roosevelt school district where he had been the assistant superintendent for secondary instruction. O'Connell had been hired as a key figure in the state's effort to improve student academic performance and teaching quality in the district

In December 2011, O'Connell said he had been fired as Bellport principal in the South County district because he would not fix the grades of star high school football player Ryan Sloan so he could get a scholarship to attend Syracuse University.

An independent investigation found that Sloan's grades were changed and former district superintendent and football coach Joseph Cipp Jr. resigned. Both Cipp and Sloan denied the allegations.

O'Connell faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.

Before South County, according to officials, O'Connell was an assistant principal at Copiague High School, and a varsity baseball coach from 1990 to 2001 at William Floyd High School.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/kevin-o-connell-former-bellport-high-school-principal-pleads-guilty-to-child-pornography-charge-1.10687660