Former School Security Officer Pleads Guilty to One Count of Production of Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 31, 2012 |
BIRMINGHAM—A former security officer in the Birmingham City School System pleaded guilty today to one count of production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Northern District of Alabama FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley and Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper.
Michael Wayne Wooten, 60, of Alabaster, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson. He is scheduled for sentencing May 2.
“Wooten’s crimes highlight the need for us to remain vigilant in protecting our children, the most vulnerable in our society, from sexual predators,” Vance said. “Parents, educators, and all members of our community should know that we are prepared to fully investigate allegations of these crimes. As U.S. Attorney, I encourage anyone with knowledge of crimes against children to report them so that we can protect the youngest members of our community.”
Wooten worked as a security officer for the city school system when, between August 2009 and April 2010, he used an office at Dupuy Elementary School to take modeling photos of numerous juvenile girls, according to court records. After one of these modeling sessions, one of the victims informed her parents of potentially inappropriate conduct by Wooten. A subsequent search of Wooten’s residence yielded multiple computers containing child pornography images, including images produced by Wooten depicting several victims between 4 and 9 years of age engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
For the child pornography offense, Wooten faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, as well as the possibility of lifetime supervised release. Wooten also faces a fine of $250,000.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Birmingham Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Fortune and Trial Attorney Jeffrey H. Zeeman of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.