A 53-year-old former music teacher in Union County is facing 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to a child pornography charge.
Michael Hamilton, 53, of Springfield, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of producing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Hamilton was employed as a music teacher at Union Township High School for 15 years where he was band director and arranger/composer in residence.
He was charged on Oct. 13.
Hamilton admitted to meeting a 16-year-old in Roxbury, Morris County and engaging in sexual conduct with that victim, which he recorded on video. Officers seized a copy of it during a search of his home in October 2023, according to court documents.
Hamilton also admitted to receiving and possessing sexually explicit messages, pictures, and videos of two other minor victims, according to the documents
The charge of production of child pornography carries a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30, and a $250,000 fine.
Hamilton is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 9.
The case is credited to FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence Reilly, and the Springfield Police Department and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood visit justice.gov/psc.
Email: alewis@njpressmedia.com
Alexander Lewis is an award-winning reporter and photojournalist whose work spans many topics.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Former NJ high school band director pleads guilty to child pornography