Ex-school worker sentenced for child porn

A former food service worker at Seven Lakes High School was sentenced to federal prison Thursday in Houston for possession of child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller sentenced Allan Wayne McNeill of Katy to just over eight years in prison to be followed by 10 years on supervised release. The judge explained that he could not go near parks, schools, playgrounds because of his conviction.

Prior to sentencing, McNeill’s attorney, Joshua Lake of the federal public defender’s office, asked the judge to consider leniency because McNeill’s offenses happened because “terrible loneliness and depression spiraled into terrible decision making.”

The 53-year-old pleaded guilty on June 16 to receipt and possession of child pornography. A cybertip line alerted the FBI that a Yahoo subscriber using McNeill’s real name had been detected downloading an image of a naked underage girl involved in a sex act. A raid by police at his home uncovered lewd images of minors ranging from toddlers to young teens on his laptop.

McNeill, a central office food service employee, had worked at the district since November 2012.

An FBI spokeswoman at the time of his arrest said there was no evidence that his crimes involved any students at the school. The district immediately initiated the process of firing him, noting at the time that, “In Katy ISD, the safety of all students is our top priority, and we will continue to cooperate fully with the FBI during this investigation.”