Westchester County band teacher facing child porn charges dies in hiking accident

GARDINER, New York (WABC) -- Police say a Westchester County school band teacher facing child pornography charges has died in an apparent hiking accident in the Hudson Valley.

The Journal News reports 45-year-old Jeffrey Whalen was pronounced dead at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff in the Mohonk Preserve Saturday afternoon.

The Crompound Elementary School teacher was arrested in October on charges of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child and promoting an obscene sexual performance. He was immediately placed on administrative leave with the Yorktown Central School District and was free without bail.

Yorktown Schools Superintendent Ralph Napolitano wrote in an email to parents Sunday that the Yorktown Heights man was killed in a "tragic fall while hiking." He says the schools will have a crisis team available for students who need support.