BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A former Colchester classroom assistant has been sentenced to two years in prison for possession of child pornography.
Bradley Smith, 67, of Jericho, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Monday in a statement. Smith was in a first-grade classroom at the Union Memorial School in Colchester before his home was searched in April and he was arrested, prosecutors said.
Court records and proceedings show that the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force got a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reporting that a file containing child pornography had been uploaded to an Internet search engine, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Law enforcement determined the file had been uploaded from Smith’s home and searched the residence on April 1.
Smith disclosed that he had been interested in child pornography for “decades,” prosecutors said. A search of his computer found nearly 150 images of child pornography and the court found some of them depicted sadistic and masochistic conduct, prosecutors said.
A phone message was left with Smith’s lawyer.
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