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Columbia, South Carolina (WACH)- A retired Greenville school teacher will spend more than 10 years in prison after a conviction for posession of child pornography.

United States Attorney Bill Nettles said Friday that Julian Ray Wates, 64, of Greer, was sentenced today in federal court in Anderson, South Carolina, for possession of child pornography.  Senior United States District Judge G. Ross Anderson, Jr. of Anderson sentenced Wates to 10 years and one month imprisonment and supervised release for life.
       
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on August 14, 2010, a law enforcement officer in Illinois logged onto the Gigatribe file sharing program and browsed the shared directory files that belonged to Wates.  These were files designated by Wates for distribution to others interested in child pornography.

The officer downloaded 31 files and discovered images of child in various states of undress and performing sex acts.  Based on this information, a search warrant was obtained for Wates’ residence in Greer.  Greer Police seized Wates’ computer and conducted a forensic examination of the computer.  The examination of the computer revealed hundreds of images and videos of children under the age of 18 engaged in sexual activity.