A former Maryland substitute teacher has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for possession of child pornography.
Jeremy Sykes was sentenced Monday in Howard County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty in October to 19 counts.
Police and prosecutors say Sykes, 44, digitally altered pornographic images of both adults and children so that they showed the faces of either his stepdaughter or students at the middle school where he taught. Sykes was a long-term substitute at Folly Quarter Middle School.
According to the Howard County state's attorney's office, Sykes apologized in court for his actions, saying he "didn't want to do it.'' His attorneys argued that he suffers from a lifelong sexual disorder.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
