TEACHER PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

BUFFALO, N.Y.--Kollin King, 27, of Hamburg, New York, pled guilty today to possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn of the Western District of New York announced.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Campana, who handled the case, said King admitted to U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny that, in late January 2007, King possessed images of child pornography on his computer, including some images that depicted children younger than twelve years old. Campana said the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment and the possibility of lifetime supervision after King's prison term ends. The conditions of supervised release would include monitoring of the defendant's computer use and restrictions upon contacts with minors.

Mr. Campana said the Plea Agreement signed by King today, which includes an admission by King that King enticed a teen-aged minor to have sex with King in 2005 and 2006, would require King to serve a prison sentence of eight and a half years. As part of today's Plea Agreement, King also agreed to surrender his New York State teaching certificate. King's admission regarding having sex with a minor in 2005 and 2006 did not relate to King's job as a teacher. Judge Skretny will sentence King on November 28, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. King has been in custody since his arrest last February 1, and he will remain in custody pending sentencing.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The conviction was the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Laurie J. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office.