OHIO Former Lisbon teacher receives federal prison term for child porn

CDs seized from the man's home showed children involved in sexual activity.
COLUMBUS -- A former teacher at Beaver Local Middle School in Columbiana County has been sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of a felony count of possession of child pornography.
David Ward, 48, was sentenced late this month to 27 months in a federal lockup with the conviction, U.S. Attorney Gregory Lockhart said in a prepared statement. Ward pleaded guilty to the charge late last year.
Federal agents searched Ward's residence in Scio, in Harrison County, in October 2002 and seized his computer, which federal authorities said contained 26 pornographic images on the hard drive, Lockhart said.
Federal agents also seized nine CDs containing what authorities said were 58 images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct, Lockhart said.
Memberships
Evidence obtained by federal agents from search warrants executed in California and New Mexico indicated Ward used his credit card to pay for memberships in out-of-state child porn sites, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Ward's sentence also includes three years of supervised release and a $2,500 fine.
Ward also is prohibited from having access to the Internet and must register as a sex offender, the U.S. attorney added.
Ward, who couldn't be reached to comment Wednesday, surrendered his teaching certificate when he was charged.