Former Sesame Street composer Fernando Rivas pleads not guilty to child porn charges

(CBS/AP) COLUMBIA, S.C. - An Grammy-winning former composer for Sesame Street pleaded not guilty Monday to taking pornographic photos of a four-year-old, reports the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper.

Fernando Rivas, 59, pleaded not guilty to making child pornography, as well as to possessing child pornography and using a computer to transport the images across state lines.

The Post and Courier reports that Charleston police and the FBI searched Rivas' home in April and found photographs of a four-year-old girl naked and ""restrained in handcuffs and other bondage-type devices." Rivas reportedly admitted to investigators that he took the photos and used the handcuffs to restrain the girl.

Rivas was placed on house arrest after posting 10 percent of a $300,000 bond. He was ordered not to have access to the internet or be around children without supervision.

Between 2002 and 2009, Rivas was a jazz music instructor at Porter-Gaud, a Charleston private school with a history of problems with sex abuse allegations. In the 1990s, former students reportedly accused a teacher there of sexually abusing them. The teacher, Eddie Fisher, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty. He later died in prison.

Meanwhile, dozens of the former students subsequently sued the school for failing to take action against the teacher. The case was settled out of court for tens of millions of dollars.

The indictment against Rivas does not say whether the four-year-old victim was a student at Porter-Gaud.