Ex-NJ teacher gets 17 years in child pornography case

Thomas Guzzi, 39, is accused of secretly taping boys in a camp bathroom.

A former New Jersey elementary school teacher who pleaded guilty to recording boys with a hidden camera at a summer camp has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

State prosecutors said 40-year-old Thomas Guzzi Jr. will be ineligible for parole for a decade as part of his sentence Friday on convictions of official misconduct, manufacturing child pornography and distributing child pornography files.

The Pitman resident had taught fifth-grade at Winslow Elementary School in Vineland. He acknowledged having manufactured child pornography with video of teenage boys taken in restrooms during a 2015 Broadway Theatre of Pitman summer camp and also having taken a photo of a boy exposing his genitals.

Guzzi apologized before sentencing, calling his actions "absolutely inexcusable" and said he "desperately" wants help.