Former Teacher Admits Possession of Child Pornography

Released August 5th

Now a former teacher for Judith Gap School, Jayson Gayo, 27, of Harlowton, plead guilty to possessing child pornography as charged in an indictment.

According to the press release from the US Attorney's Office for the District of Montana, Gayo admitted to possessing child pornography after Facebook submitted tips about the possible transmission of the material on its system to authorities.

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U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided, and set the sentencing for December 15th, ordering Gayo remanded into custody pending further proceedings. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

From the District of Montana Press Release:

The government alleged in court documents and in court that in August 2020, Facebook submitted a series of Cybertips after flagging the possible transmission of child pornography on its system. The information indicated that the transmission of child pornography was from an account that was connected to the Judith Gap School and to Gayo’s residence in Judith Gap. Gayo was a teacher at Judith Gap School. There was no indication that the images or Gayo’s conduct involved students at the school. Investigators executed a search warrant of Gayo’s residence, collected multiple electronic media items and determined that the items contained more than 400 images and videos of child pornography. A search warrant issued to Facebook for Gayo’s account found additional evidence of uploads of child pornography from that account.

This case was initiated under the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative, which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.