A schoolteacher and coach who worked in communities between San Antonio and Corpus Christi has been charged with possessing child pornography.

FBI agents arrested Gerald Mark Thomas, 46, of Poth, on Wednesday evening after a federal grand jury indicted him. He made a brief court appearance Thursday in federal court in San Antonio and was released on unsecured bond.

His lawyer, Bernie Campion, said Thomas vehemently denies the allegations. Campion waived Thomas’ arraignment, meaning a not guilty plea was entered on Thomas’ behalf.

"He had received accolades both professionally and as a coach," Campion said. "He’s a respected member of the community. The allegations tear him up personally, socially and in every other way."

The indictment alleged that between 1999 and 2004, Thomas regularly accessed Internet Web sites whose primary focus was the distribution of child pornography. After an inspection of files in a computer that was at Thomas’ home, agents found images of child pornography, the indictment said.

Thomas worked for various schools, including Karnes City Junior High School and Orange Grove High School and in Floresville and Beeville, officials said.

Campion said Thomas recently accepted a position at Poth High School. He said the charges have no connection to the schools or school property.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Nowak ordered Thomas to be on home detention and electronic monitoring, and not to access the Internet unless monitored by a program that keeps his computer use in check. The judge also ordered him not to have contact with minors, except for supervised contact with his 3-year-old child.

If convicted, Thomas faces up to 10 years in prison.