Bakersfield Teacher Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography

FRESNO, CA—Michael Scott Cooper, 43, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to three years and one in prison for possession of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Cooper possessed images and videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct on his computer. Many of the images depicted prepubescent minors. Cooper was a teacher at Loudan Elementary School in Bakersfield. He was arrested on October 7, 2010. He has been in custody since his guilty plea on May 21, 2012.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Stanley Boone prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”