Former Pennsylvania middle school teacher pleads guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography

SCRANTON, Pa. – A former middle school teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of receiving and distributing child pornography, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to court documents, Todd Evans, 27, of St. Clair, Pa., a former teacher at the St. Clair Elementary/Middle School, pleaded guilty to the charge before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley.

Evans was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2011 for using a computer to download and distribute images of child pornography between October 2011 and December 7, 2011.

The Pennsylvania State Police and Schuylkill County District Attorney's Office assisted in the investigation.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or NCMEC's CyberTipLine.