Ex-Belleville Music Teacher Admits to Sexual Contact With Boy, Child Porn

A former Belleville music teacher admitted in court Wednesday to luring a teenage boy to Pennsylvania for sex, as well as downloading and receiving child pornography on his computer.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Robert Mucha, 57, of Newton, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to one count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of receiving child pornography. 
                                        
Mucha was arrested in his home on July 26, 2012 and charged with a single count of possessing child pornography. He has been held by authorities since then.

According to documents filed and statements made in court, Mucha convinced a teenage boy in October 2010 to travel from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to spend the day with him and then sleep over at his apartment in Stroudsburg, Pa. After he was arrested in July 2012, Mucha admitted to sexual contact with the teenager.

Prior to his arrest, Mucha worked as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician in Andover  He also previously taught band and Bugle Corps to teenagers in Belleville and Lakewood.

Mucha pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 19.

Fishman said the guilty plea is part of Operation Holitna, an ongoing HSI-led investigation that originated in Boston. 

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or its online tip form at http://www.ice.gov/tips, which they said are both are staffed around the clock by investigators.  Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or Http://Www.Cybertipline.Com