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NORTH  ATTLEBORO — Prosecutors say a North Attleboro High School swim coach admitted to downloading over 200 images of children in sexual acts from the Internet and keeping a collection of  child pornography on portable computer drives and DVDs police allegedly found throughout his apartment.

Meanwhile, Timothy S. Kelly, 38, who lives on the first floor of 49 Richards Ave., in North Attleboro, was freed on $75,000 cash bail this afternoon after arraignment in Taunton District Court.

Kelly, known as “T.K.”, is also the aquatics director at the Attleboro YMCA, a swim coach at the Bearcroft Swim Club in Attleboro and ran the town pool when he was employed by the North Attleboro Parks and Recreation Department.

As a condition of his release, Judge David Turcotte ordered Kelly to stay away from children under 18.

Assistant District Attorney Jessica Lennon said Kelly admitted to police to collecting since 2003 video tapes, DVDs and computer files of children engaged in a “variety of sex acts.” “He admitted he had a sexual preference for females between the ages of 10 and 18 years of age,” Lennon said during a bail hearing.

Kelly was arrested at home Monday night when North Attleboro and Attleboro detectives and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant for his apartment.

Police seized his home computer and related computer hardware, which will be analyzed by computer experts, Detective Lt. David Dawes said.

Police say there is currently no evidence any of the alleged child pornography involves area children.

Kelly has been the coach of the North Attleboro High School varsity swim team since it started in 2007. He is also the coach of the Attleboro Y’s Tsunami Swim Club.

His arrest is part of an ongoing investigation that began by federal authorities in January when they executed a search warrant for a child pornography suspect in Crystal Springs, Miss., police said.

Lennon said police identified Kelly as a suspect after obtaining subpoenas for computer records for the Internet accounts found on the Mississippi suspect’s computer.

Lennon said authorities have computer records indicating Kelly communicated by computer with the Mississippi suspect and talked about a videotape of girls ages 8 to 10 engaged in sex acts with a dog.

She said Kelly made his statements on videotape at the police station when questioned by detectives Dawes and Sgt. John Reilly.

While prosecutors claim they have a strong case against Kelly, his lawyer, Richard Silva Jr. of Fall River, said, “He’s still presumed innocent until proven guilty.” He said Kelly was single and has been employed as a swim coach for 11 years without any hint of wrongdoing. Silva said Kelly cooperated with police in what he called a “complex” investigation and would return to court to face the charges.

The court entered an innocent plea on Kelly's behalf. He is due back in court July 14.

He faces a charge of knowingly purchasing or possessing visual material of a child depicted in sexual conduct.

If convicted, Kelly faces a maximum of 5 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.

His parents were in the courtroom for the proceedings and expressed shock at the allegations against their son but declined to comment.

North Attleboro School Superintendent James Rice, who has been in the post since April, released a statement this morning saying Kelly has no current role with the schools because it is not swimming season.

“The North Attleboro School District has just learned that the High School Swim Coach, Mr. Tim Kelly, is being criminally charged with possession of child pornography,” the statement said.

“The school district has cooperated, and will continue to cooperate, with the North Attleboro Police Department. Mr. Kelly is not a teacher or otherwise involved in the schools and at this time the swim team is between seasons, so Mr. Kelly has no current role with the schools.

“The district shall conduct its own investigation into these allegations and shall then take whatever action is appropriate to ensure the safety of our students. The district shall not have any further comment until we have completed our investigation.”

Kelly was also suspended from his part-time job at the YMCA.

YMCA chief executive officer Robin McDonald said a letter has been sent to parents of swim team members and a meeting will be arranged to discuss the situation, she said.

“As soon as we learned about his arrest we took immediate steps to protect our youths,” she said.

McDonald also said a background check was done on Kelly and his references were checked before he was hired. 

The telephone number for the Bearcroft Swim Club was not working Tuesday afternoon.