BILLINGS — A former Judith Gap School teacher admitted Friday to possessing child pornography after Facebook submitted tips about the possible transmission of the material on its system to authorities, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Jayson Gayo, 27, of Harlowton, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography as charged in an indictment. Gayo faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.
Federal prosecutors 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, where he was a teacher.
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.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided, set sentencing for Dec. 15 and ordered Gayo remanded into custody pending further proceedings.
