The former athletic director for the Eastchester Union Free School District has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child, as well as receiving and distributing child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that 28-year-old Thomas James Puccini was arrested on Wednesday.

Puccini worked as a high school football coach before becoming the interim athletic director for the district in July 2024.

“Thomas James Puccini’s alleged crimes are every parent’s nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Puccini, a football coach, held himself out as a trusted member of his school community, yet he was preying on our most innocent and vulnerable."