Former Fort Worth Drama Teacher Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charge
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — A 24-year-old man who taught at Southwest High School in Fort Worth pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography Wednesday morning.
Matthew Anthony Keller of Watauga faces a statutory penalty of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Keller has been in custody since his arrest in July 2016 on a related federal complaint. He is scheduled for sentencing on March 2, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Terry R Means.
According to documents filed in the case, the investigation began when a parent of a 15-year-old child discovered a relationship between their child and Keller.
The parent notified a police department in Macomb County, Michigan immediately. The parent was further concerned because Keller planned to fly from Texas to Michigan and possibly meet with the child for a sexual encounter.
When a search warrant was conducted at Keller's residence in Watauga, law enforcement seized a computer from his bedroom. A forensic analysis of that computer revealed the presence of a sexually explicit video of the minor victim.
The matter was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims.
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