The director of Winthrop's summer recreation program this week vowed to now perform criminal background checks on employees from outside organizations working with the town's recreation programs.

The pledge by recreation director Lonney Steeves followed news that a Biddeford man employed as an instructor at a dance camp held at Winthrop High School in July had been charged with exposing himself to a 13-year-old Augusta boy while the camp was in session.

Steeves said he was unaware of charges pending against the instructor, 19-year-old Keith R. Nadeau of Biddeford, that alleged the former University of Maine at Farmington student had child pornography on his computer.

"Since I've known about it I've been pretty physically ill about the whole thing," Steeves said Thursday. "It's really upset me a great, great deal."

While serving as a dance camp instructor this summer in Winthrop, Nadeau was out on bail after his December arrest in Farmington on the pornography charge. He is now being held without bail at Franklin County Jail, said Andrew Robinson, a Franklin County Assistant District Attorney.

Winthrop's summer recreation program sponsored the dance camp, Steeves said.

He said he hired Saco-based dance company "It's Showtime, Folks" to run the camp after receiving "a glowing reference." The camp's director and choreographer, Debra J. Lombard of Saco, did not inform him about Nadeau's pending charges, Steeves said.

"We would have never agreed to have them there if I had known that," he said.