BUFFALO, N.Y. — A former City Honors teacher on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography.
Peter Hingston, 62, of Amherst made the plea in U.S. District Court. Each of the two counts has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Buffalo Police officers visited the City Honors school in June 17, 2019, to talk with the middle school technology teacher. Hingston had been accused of taking photos of a female student with a GoPro digital camera, which was searched by police.
Prosecutors say child pornography produced by Hingston was found on that camera. The victims shown in those videos included minors "who were under his custody, care, and supervisory control when the sexually explicit images were produced."
“The defendant’s behavior in this case is the stuff of which parents’ nightmares are made,” U.S. Attorney James Kennedy said in a statement. “Our schools are supposed to be safe havens where our children’s minds are nurtured. The defendant’s effort to exploit his student’s for his own gratification warrants federal prosecution and the significant sentencing exposure occasioned by today’s guilty pleas.”
Hingston is scheduled to be sentenced on October 21.
