An associate professor was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on charges of the “receipt and distribution of images of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Rodger Githens, an associate professor at the University of the Pacific, a private university founded by Methodist ministers in 1851, where he taught leadership and organization development, was charged by the DOJ in April for possession and distribution of child pornography after being caught in a sting operation, according to the press release. A grand jury indicted Githens on the charges Thursday and if convicted by a jury he could serve up to 20 years in prison. (RELATED: Biden Bemoans Banning Of Pornographic Children’s Books)
“If convicted, Githens faces five to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a lifetime of supervised release, and forfeiture of any property used to facilitate commission of the offense,” the DOJ’s press release read.
Githens matched with an undercover FBI agent on the dating app Grindr and began explaining that he had sexual relationships with minors under the age of 12, including his nephew, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Beast. The professor allegedly sent sexually explicit pictures and videos of a minor performing sexual acts on adults to the undercover agent and even described his plan to lure the FBI agent’s fake seven-year-old niece with a chocolate bar and an Ariel doll.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 24: The “Grindr” app logo is seen amongst other dating apps on a mobile phone screen on November 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Githens’ husband, to whom he had been married for 13 years, told the FBI that he was unaware of his partner’s behavior, according to the Daily Beast. The FBI raided Githens’ house on April 19 and later charged him with possession and distribution of child pornography after “[a]gents discovered numerous Telegram chats on Githens’ phone, including several in which he was exchanging and commenting on videos of young children being sexually abused,” according to to the press release.
Githens was placed on administrative leave following the charges, according to a statement given to the Daily Beast. Before working at the university, Githens took graduate-level coursework in religious studies at the Chicago Theological Seminary after he had graduated from Lincoln Christian College with a BS in Religious Studies.
UP and Githens did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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