Rabbi Edward Schlaeger, Mental Health Counselor - Arrested on 1 Count of Child Porn

Former rabbi surrenderson 1 count of child porn

By edit@ctpost.com (GENEVIEVE REILLY greilly@ctpost.com)

The Connecticut Post

TRUMBULL — A former West Haven rabbi now working as a counselor for the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has been arrested on a child pornography charge.

Edward Schlaeger, 51, of Hawthorne Avenue, Shelton, was arrested on a warrant Saturday and charged with one count of third-degree possession of child pornography.

He was released after posting a court-set bond of $10,000 and is scheduled to appear Sept. 7 in Bridgeport Superior Court.

According to Trumbull police, the pornography was discovered by Schlaeger's wife last September when she was cleaning out their former home here on Stonehouse Drive. The couple was being divorced.

Schlaeger's wife notified police, and search-and-seizure warrants were executed at both the Trumbull and Shelton addresses that same month.

Items confiscated by police included CDs and videos, all depicting pre-teens.

Schlaeger surrendered Saturday at police headquarters.

He is an employee of the Southwest Connecticut Mental Health System in Bridgeport, a division of the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

His supervisor, James Pisciotta, declined to comment and referred all questions to the department's spokesman, who could not be reached Monday for comment.