BANGOR – An award-winning teacher who taught kindergarten in Jackman pleaded guilty Wednesday to producing child pornography that depicted his students in sexually explicit poses in the classroom.
Rob Mocarsky, 41, will be sentenced in the coming months. Production of child pornography carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, with a 30-year maximum. He faces a fine of as much as $250,000.
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By entering a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Mocarsky admitted to taking pornographic images of four kindergarten students, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Neumann.
The plea means Mocarsky will avoid a trial. “We are certainly pleased that he pleaded guilty,” Neumann said. “This avoids a trial, which is something that we think is good and appropriate, mainly for the community.”
Robert Sandy Jr., Mocarsky’s attorney, said he is also satisfied with the plea.
“We wanted to resolve the case in as simple a way as possible,” he said. “It’s worth noting that there were no sexual acts involved, and no force was involved, and these images were never transferred to anyone else.”
He said Mocarsky “realizes that what he did was wrong, and it was against the law.”
The plea agreement did not involve the other charge that Mocarsky originally faced, possession of child pornography. Though filed in the original complaint, it was not acted upon in the agreement, Sandy said.
Judge John Woodcock Jr. accepted the plea. Mocarsky will be held in jail until his sentencing.
Mocarsky began teaching in 2002 at Forest Hills Consolidated School in Jackman, which serves kindergarten through 12th grade.
Mocarsky, a previous winner of the national Milken Family Foundation Award for excellence in teaching, was arrested Jan. 6 at his home in Jackman. Police seized his computer, which contained many images of school-age girls, according to an affidavit filed by Detective Christopher Tupper of the Maine State Police’s Criminal Investigation Division.
The criminal investigation began Dec. 8, after a parent notified Principal and Assistant Superintendent Denise Plante of an incident involving the parent’s 5-year-old daughter.
The parent told Plante that Mocarsky had made the girl stay in the classroom while the rest of the children went to the gymnasium, then took inappropriate photos of her.
Mocarsky was put on administrative leave that day and later resigned, effective Feb. 19. The case became a federal case in March.
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