Ex-U.Va. dean pleads guilty to child porn charges

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A former University of Virginia associate dean has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges.

Michael G. Morris pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of distributing or receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The 50-year-old Crozet, Va. resident entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville.

Morris faces up to 20 years in prison on the distribution and receipt charges and up to 10 years in prison on the possession charge.

U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy says Morris possessed more than 1,000 images of child pornography and child erotica. Morris made many of these images available on a file sharing website.

At the time of his arrest in November 2013, Morris was an associate dean at U.Va.'s McIntyre School of Commerce.