CONCORD, N.H. – The New Hampshire Supreme Court will not hear another appeal from a former prep-school teacher convicted of possessing hundreds of child-pornography images.

David Cobb, 65, an English teacher at prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., was convicted in 1996 of hundreds of child pornography charges and one count of attempted sexual assault on a 12-year-old Farmington boy.

He became infamous as the “Pumpkin Man,” because of a mask he wore while soliciting children.

Cobb asked for a new trial, but Strafford County Superior Court Judge Bruce Mohl denied his request in August. The Supreme Court decided not to question Mohl’s decision.

Cobb is serving an eight-to-15-year sentence. He is eligible for parole in one year.

Cobb’s case went before the state Supreme Court earlier. His lawyer, Cathy Green, argued unsuccessfully in 1997 that the state’s child pornography laws were too vague.

In the recent effort, defense lawyer Paul Haley argued that Cobb received ineffective assistance from Green because she did not raise a First Amendment defense. Haley claimed Cobb’s images were art, not child pornography. He said the evidence consisted of collages created with snapshots and pictures from magazines and books.