An elementary school teacher who most recently worked in Bethesda, Md., took a plea deal in connection to child porn charges, stemming from abusive acts he allegedly taped overseas with preschool students.
James Douglas Manning, 54, of Fredericksburg, Va., pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography Monday, according to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The timeline of the case goes back to 1996, when Manning was teaching overseas in Japan. Court records state that while there, Manning recorded himself performing sexual acts on several children who were all around the age of 5.
Manning returned to the United States in 1999 and brought DVDs of his recordings with him. The U.S. Attorney's Office did not detail what Manning did immediately after that, but his criminal behavior came to light between April 2010 and February 2011, when Manning reportedly spent more than $2,000 on dozens of videos with "graphic and simulated lascivious" depictions of underage boys.
Those purchases led investigators to track Manning down through a national child porn sting known as Operation Spade, after which they discovered the DVDs he made in Japan.
Manning was teaching preschool in Bethesda when he ws arrested in November, but the Justice Department did not specify any school. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
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