A former middle school teacher from St. Louis County, Missouri, has admitted to possessing child pornography. Scott R. Ellis, aged 38, pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of child pornography in court on Wednesday. He acknowledged having 72 images containing child abuse material on his cell phone and approximately 700 videos and more than 900 images stored in his Mega cloud account.
The investigation into Ellis began following two cyber tipline reports made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding child pornography found in his Google account.
Ellis is set to be sentenced on June 3. The charge he faces carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI alongside the St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is responsible for prosecuting the case.
This legal action is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. This project coordinates federal, state, and local resources to apprehend individuals exploiting children online and rescue victims involved.
For further details about Project Safe Childhood, information can be accessed at www.justice.gov/psc.