'I know I shouldn't do it': Former Jacksonville teacher pleads guilty to collecting child sex-abuse images
A former Duval County school teacher who said he fantasized about touching young children pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing hundreds of images of child sexual abuse, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Michael Paul Gillis, 64, faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a potential lifetime term of supervised release following his plea, prosecutors said.
Gillis was arrested on Feb. 2 by FBI agents at his home on Cap Ferrat Street and has been detained since, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. School district officials said he was a Duval County teacher from August 1991 to August 2007. No sentencing hearing has been scheduled yet.
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FBI agents were looking into people who were using an online file-sharing network to receive and share child pornography when their investigation revealed that Gillis had accessed it from his home, court records show.
When agents executed a search warrant, he advised he had been accessing child sexual abuse materials for at least 15 years, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. He said he currently had “a couple hundred” contraband videos on his computer.
Gillis confirmed he viewed and downloaded child pornography and child sexual-abuse materials while working as a teacher. But he never did anything in a classroom or school or touched a student inappropriately, his criminal complaint states.
"Gillis said he has 'never touched anybody' but has thought about touching a child," the complaint said. "Gillis was employed as a school teacher and would fantasize about touching children inappropriately but never acted on it."
'Unable to stop the urge to view it'
During the execution of the search warrant at his home, FBI personnel seized several computers belonging to Gillis that contained at least 2,000 images and 210 videos showing infants, toddlers and other young children being sexually abused.
Gillis told agents at his home that he used both his laptop and his desktop computer to download the materials.
"Gillis deleted the child pornography from his laptop 'several weeks ago,'" he said to agents then. "He stated it was because 'I know I shouldn't do it,' and 'It's a fantasy,' and acknowledged it is illegal."
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In the criminal complaint, Gillis also acknowledged looking at sites that contained images of nude children, some involved in sexual acts. He said he did not use social media to seek out children online, explaining that his sexual interest in children is limited to downloading and viewing pornography. He said he continued to seek new child pornography because he is "unable to stop the urge to view it."
The case was investigated as part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Federal, state and local resources are used to find, arrest and prosecute people who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information go to justice.gov/psc.
dscanlan@jacksonvile.com, (904) 359-4549
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ex-Jacksonville teacher pleads guilty to having child sex abuse images, video
