Retired Community College of Philadelphia biology professor arrested in child porn investigation

A retired Community College of Philadelphia biology professor was arrested Friday after investigators said they found child pornography at his South Jersey home, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday.

Dino Fiabane, 73, of Lumberton, was charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child. He was taken into custody after police with a search warrant seized computers, cell phones, external hard drives, and other digital storage devices at his home. A preliminary review of the devices by detectives revealed child pornography images, the office said.

In New Jersey, child pornography charges are contained under child endangering statutes, prosecutor’s spokesperson Joel Bewley said Monday.

The investigation began late last year after the prosecutor’s high-tech crimes unit was notified of Fiabane’s alleged online search activities by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Bewley said. The case will be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment, he said.

Fiabane taught at the college for more than 26 years. He was hired as a full-time faculty member in June 1987 and retired in February 2014, college spokesperson Linda S. Wallace said Monday. In April 1999, he chaired a search committee for a biology professor at the college, according to an Inquirer ad from the time.

Fiabane has a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and master’s degrees from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Florida. He is a member of several New Jersey bird-watching organizations and an amateur nature photographer who has posted nature photos on Flickr.