Jan 10, 2008 10:50 pm US/Central
Former Teacher Sentenced For Child Porn Possession
Reporting
Jack Fink
FRISCO (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A former Frisco teacher and soccer coach will spend ten years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.
The man collected and traded hundreds of graphic images of young girls over the internet.
In court Thursday, former teacher and soccer coach Robert Lamascus told a judge he could never forgive himself for what he did.
When he received the maximum sentence, he readily accepted it.
"I'm sorry. I committed a crime, and I think it's fair I should have to do it. I'm sorry," he said.
Lamascus resigned from Frisco High School last February citing family reasons. But federal agents had just raided his home and found as many as 600 images of child porn on his computer.
"Many of those involved pre-pubescent minors who were forced to engage in sadistic and masochistic and sexually exploitive conduct," said U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe. "Some of those images were of 13 and 14-year-old girls."
There is no evidence the girls were his students.
Federal prosecutors say cases of child porn and exploitation of children on the internet jumped nearly 30 percent nationwide last year.
Thursday, Dallas police received a $225,000 federal grant to track down people like Lamascus.
"It allows officers to receive training in these cutting edge technologies where we catch defendants and bring them to justice," said U.S. Attorney Richard Roper.
"If you engage in child porn, you're going to get caught, and you're going to go to prison for a very long time," said Ratcliffe.
"I'm an idiot," said Lamascus. "That's all I can say. I'm an idiot."
Lamascus says he ruined a great life. He was engaged to get married. Now the wedding is off and his is broke. He'll surrender to marshals this Monday.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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