A former Monteagle Elementary School first grade teacher was sentenced Monday to serve 10 years and a month in federal prison after earlier pleading guilty to child pornography charges.
Benjamin Lane Walker, 34, sobbed as he appeared before Judge Sandy Mattice.
He said he was disappointed in his actions and especially sorry for the pain it has caused his parents.
Prosecutor Gary Humble had asked for a severe sentence in the case, saying that because Walker was a teacher of young children that it made the offense especially serious.
He said, "We are aggressively prosecuting child pornography cases, and especially so where the offender is in a position of trust with children. If anybody is in that position and has problems along that line, they need to find another line of work."
Walker had faced up to 15 years and eight months in prison.
There were numerous letters of support for the defendant, and a number of family and friends were in the courtroom for the sentencing.
Authorities said Walker's computer contained numerous images of identifiable children engaged in pornographic acts.