'Inappropriate' journal with student leads to arrest

Updated: 1/8/10, 1:40 p.m.

An East Meadow man was arrested on Thursday and accused of making "immoral" and "unhealthy" comments to a former student through a journal he kept with the 13-year-old boy, police said.

Ian Edrich, 35, was described by police as a "popular" teacher at Thompson Junior High School in Syosset. He worked at the school for six years and was a seventh-grade English teacher there, said Detective Sgt. Anthony Repalone of the Nassau County Police Department.

Repalone declined to go into detail about what was written in the journal. However, the detective explained that the language led investigators to believe that Edrich was looking for more of a relationship with the student.

An investigation commenced after the journal was discovered by the student's mother, police said, and it was determined that its contents contained material that was "immoral," "unhealthy" and "inappropriate" between an adult and child.

The investigation is continuing, Repalone said, and based on the current charges — Endangering the Welfare of a Child — Edrich could face up to a year in jail.

According to court records, Edrich was issued a temporary order of protection and held on a bail figure set at $500 cash or $1000 bond, which was not posted as of Friday morning. He is due back in court on Feb. 1, court records showed.