Former King High teacher pleads guilty to child porn charges

Former King High School math teacher Aaron Brian Sands had an extensive collection of child pornography, with thousands of pictures and dozens of videos from around the world, authorities say.

The images depicted sadistic and masochistic sexual abuse of children, and included images of children being bound, and toddlers and other prepubescent children.

Sands, 42, pleaded guilty this afternoon to receiving and possessing child pornography, charges which carry maximum possible prison sentences of 20 and 10 years respectively.

He resigned his position as a math teacher at King High School after his arrest in December.

Authorities have identified 31 of the children in the pornographic pictures, according to court papers.

Sands also used a non-pornographic picture of another child - Jessica Lunsford, the 9-year-old Citrus County girl killed by a sexual predator five years ago. When Sands chatted online with Yahoo instant messenger, he used Lunsford's photo as his profile picture - the picture others saw when talking to him.

During two of those chats in 2007, Sands downloaded child pornography created in Illinois and Germany, according to court documents. During one of the computer conversations, Sands sent approximately 35 images of child pornography to the other chat participant.

Sands' attorney, Alec Hall, told U.S. Magistrate Thomas Wilson this afternoon that when he is sentenced, Sands plans to dispute the prosecution's description of the number of pictures and videos investigators found on Sands' three computers. But Hall did not dispute the use of Lunsford's photo.

A sentencing date has not been set.

When federal agents searched Sands' home, according to a criminal complaint, he told the investigators, "I don't know what is wrong with me."

Sands helped forensic experts locate the images on his laptop computer.

Sands was a teacher in the International Baccalaureate program at King High, 6815 N. 56th St. Sands had worked at the school since 2006 and there have been no indications that he acted inappropriately with students, a school district spokesman has said.

Sands' arrest was part of "Operation Predator," an ongoing investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that identifies people who sexually exploit children.

The ICE initiative began in 2003 and has resulted in more than 12,000 arrests. The agency encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its hot line at1-866-347-2423.