Former teacher pleads guilty to child porn

Accused of taking videos up skirts of students

A former Columbus Alternative High School teacher pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges related to accusations he secretly took videos up the skirts and shorts of students and other females.

Justin Robert Foley, 47, of Delaware, Ohio, appeared Wednesday afternoon in

U.S. District Court in Columbus and entered guilty please under an agreement with federal prosecutors to two felony counts: sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.

Foley was employed as a chemistry teacher at Columbus Alternative High School when he committed these crimes between approximately June 2018 and September 2022, according to court records.

The first count is related to producing images of a 15-year-old girl’s genitalia area, court records state.

Court records state that videos and photos recovered from Foley’s accounts showed “females of various ages in department stores around the Columbus area, Downtown Columbus public areas, near Ohio Wesleyan University, downtown Delaware areas and outside Conger Elementary School” in Delaware.

The victims were not aware they were being recorded, police said.

A federal judge will sentence Foley at a later date. The sexual exploitation of a minor charge alone is punishable by a minimum 15 years in prison.

The investigation into Foley arose after Google sent a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which passed the tip onto Delaware police in August. Foley had uploaded numerous images of child pornography via Google email accounts, according to court records.

Foley was arrested on Sept. 20 by the Delaware Police Department on state charges after admitting to having more than 5,000 images and more than 160 videos of child pornography on his cellphone and other electronic devices.

A criminal complaint against Foley was filed in federal court in November, superseding the local charges. jlaird@dispatch.com @Lairdwrites