Former Jacksonville school teacher pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

Though he was retired from teaching at the time of his arrest, Gillis admitted to viewing these kinds of materials while on the job. Authorities said the suspect admitted that though he had "fantasies" about abusing children, he swore to investigators he never acted on it.

ADVERTISEMENT
Image
Nick Monroe Cleveland Ohio
ADVERTISEMENT

64-year-old Michael Gillis, a former teacher out of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on Thursday.

Gillis previously confessed that he viewed child pornography for the past 15 years. He told authorities he got the images from a file-sharing network.

Per the initial press release followin his arrest, the FBI raided the home of Michael Gillis February 2, 2022. The computer hard drive materials seized by authorities contained videos of underaged children being sexually abused. Some of the subjects in the videos were as young as three years of age.

According to the criminal complaint, Gillis told authorities at his residence during the raid that he knew he "shouldn't do it" and "it's a fantasy."

The former teacher voluntarily unlocked his computer and, together with authorities, viewed several graphic videos from his hard drive. Some Gillis claimed to have downloaded by "accident," and the suspect swore that he never solicited children on social media.

According to the Department of Justice, "at least 2,000 images and 210 videos depicting infants, toddlers, and other young children being sexually abused." Though he was retired from teaching at the time of his arrest, Gillis admitted to viewing these kinds of materials while on the job. Authorities said the suspect admitted that though he had "fantasies" about abusing children, he swore to investigators he never acted on it.

According to News4JAX, Gillis worked for the Duval County Public Schools district from 1991 to 2007. After that he had a job painting houses and commercial spaces before retiring from that line of work.

Gillis faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, and his sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Arrests of teachers across the US have made headlines this month including; a Pennsylvania chemistry teacher for "multiple sexual offenses against a child," an Oregon substitute teacher facing an incest charge among other sex crime charges, and a 42-year-old former high school choir teacher in Illinois facing nine counts of sexual contact with a 17-year-old student.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in to comment

Comments

Powered by StructureCMS™ Comments

Join and support independent free thinkers!

We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.

Support The Post Millennial

Remind me next month

To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 The Post Millennial, Privacy Policy