Manassas Teacher Charged with Child Pornography Offenses

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Kevin Garfield Ricks, 50, of Federalsburg, Md., was charged in a criminal complaint today on charges of transporting and possessing child pornography.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Douglas W. Keen, Chief of Police for the City of Manassas, made the announcement. Ricks faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 30 years in prison and up to a lifetime of supervision if convicted on all charges.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, between about September 2007 and his arrest on Feb. 18, 2010, the defendant was a teacher at a high school in Manassas, Va. After his arrest on local charges stemming from allegations that Ricks had sexual relations with a 16-year-old boy, Ricks’s laptop computer was searched. The search allegedly uncovered several images of child pornography. The affidavit alleges that further investigation revealed that Ricks brought the laptop from his residence in Virginia to his residence in Maryland when he returned on weekends.

The investigation into the case remains ongoing. Ricks is currently incarcerated in the Prince William County Adult Detention Center.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and Manassas Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys John Eisinger and Jerry Smagala are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Criminal complaints are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov.