Former Fresno teacher sentenced to 9 years for child pornography

A former Fresno special education teacher was sentenced Wednesday to nine years in prison for distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Lauren Horwood said.

Jack Mootz, 63 and a recent Sacramento resident, must also register as a sex offender for 15 years upon his release. His access to the internet, computers and children will also be restricted after his prison term.

Court documents show the Plano Police Department in Texas learned that Mootz used BitTorrent to share thousands of child porn images across the country. Most depicted infants or toddlers being sexually abused by adults, Horwood said.

Mootz had been working as a special education teacher and living in Fresno. When law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at his home, he relocated to Sacramento. He was indicted in Fresno on March 9 and pleaded guilty to the charges without a plea agreement on May 31.

This investigation was a joint effort of Federal Bureau of Investigation offices in Fresno and Dallas, as well as the Plano Police Department.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Former Fresno teacher sentenced to 9 years for child pornography."