A former teacher at a state-run charter school in New Mexico pleaded guilty Thursday to distributing and possessing child pornography, KRQE reported
Police arrested John Wernly, a former Spanish teacher at Albuquerque School of Excellence, in August 2016 after authorities said they found him sharing child pornography online, where “potentially millions of people downloaded the images,” KRQE reported at the time. He was 30 at the time of the 2016 arrest.
Former Albuquerque teacher pleads guilty to child pornography charges https://t.co/vJ5NeMhIil
— KRQE News 13 (@krqe) May 27, 2021
Investigators searched Wernly’s home and discovered dozens of images of children between the ages of five to eight years old. Investigators were especially concerned given Wernly’s line of work as a teacher.
“Which of course puts us at more concern, because once again, the things that we fantasize about sexually if we’re given the opportunity to live those out, generally speaking, if we think we can get away with it, we will,” Detective Kyle Hartsock said at the time of Wernly’s 2016 arrest.
The child pornography charges were dropped against Wernly but were later refiled, according to KRQE.
Wernly reportedly pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a visual medium of sexual exploitation and possession of a visual medium of sexual exploitation of children with a child under 13.
Wernly worked at the school as a middle and high school Spanish teacher between August 2015 and February 2016, according to KRQE. He was not employed at Albuquerque School of Excellence at the time of his previous arrest.
Albuquerque School of Excellence said in a statement in 2016 that Wernly was subject to a background check, like all staff, and “no red flags were reported at the time of his employment,” KRQE reported.
Hartsock said the images Wernly was in possession of did not appear to be of local children. Wernly had no criminal history in New Mexico in 2016.
He faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing, according to KRQE.
Numerous teachers and other school employees have been arrested on child pornography or other sexual misconduct charges, including rape.
Days before Wernly pleaded guilty to his charges, a sixth-grade teacher at a California public school was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography. The teacher was identified by investigators working as part of a task force searching for people who are allegedly trading images depicting child pornography.
#ICYMI @DallasPD has arrested a #DISD Lakewood Elementary first grade teacher, Kevin Rayo, on charges of possession of child pornography. Anyone suspecting that their child may have been victimized asked to call child abuse squad 214-275-1300. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/Ra1jcL85Nr
— Robbie Owens (@cbs11Robbie) April 12, 2021
In April, police charged a Dallas public school teacher with possession of child pornography after they said they found numerous images showing an adult male engaging in sexual intercourse with children as young as three. (RELATED: First-Grade Teacher At Texas Public School Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography)