Former Beaumont ISD Teacher Sentenced for Child Exploitation Violations

BEAUMONT, Texas — A 56-year-old former Jefferson County, Texas school teacher has been sentenced to federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

Gary Alan George pleaded guilty on April 5, 2016, to receiving child pornography and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield. 

According to information presented in court, during an undercover operation led by Homeland Security, George, a former middle school teacher from 1999 to 2014 with the Beaumont Independent School District, distributed images containing child pornography to an investigator.  A search warrant was executed at George’s residence resulting in the seizure of electronic devices.  Forensic analysis of the electronic devices revealed thousands of images containing child erotica and child pornography.  George was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 6, 2015.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods.