Latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Midlands

COLUMBIA (WACH) - A former Spartanburg County teacher will spend more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to posession of child pornoraphy.

United States Attorney Bill Nettles said Tuesday that Mark Anthony Soza, 57, of Roebuck, was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment by United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs of Greenville.  Soza pled guilty to possession of child pornography.  

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Soza, a Spartanburg School District 4 teacher prior to his arrest in February 2012, was a customer of a commercial child pornography operation under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security. The investigation revealed that Soza completed PayPal transactions which gave him access to websites known to contain child pornography.

On February 22, agents approached Soza confessed to federal agents he had large quantities of child pornography on his computers.  Agents took the computers and conducted an investigation.  The analysis showed that there were multiple images and videos of children under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts and the lascivious display of the genitals.  In total, law enforcement estimated that Soza had over 20,000 illegal images in his possession. 

The case was investigated by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.

Click here for more information on Project Safe Childhood.