A January jury trial is scheduled for a former school bus driver facing child pornography charges.
George Thomas O’ Dea Jr., 65, of Rogers is charged with 10 counts of distributing, possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a Class D felony. He could be sentenced from three to 10 years in prison on each count if convicted.
O’Dea appeared in court Monday for a pre-trial hearing. Circuit Judge Robin Green scheduled O’Dea’s jury trial to begin on Jan. 7.
O’Dea admitted to downloading up to 200 images of pornography every day, according to a probable cause affidavit. Odea admitted to downloading child pornography, but claimed he didn’t do it intentionally and the material was lumped in with other downloads. O’Dea said he never thought about reporting the images to law enforcement, according to court records. Deputies seized several computers, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, hard drives and picture cards from O’Dea’s home, according to court documents.
The Springdale School District placed O’Dea on administrative leave when district officials learned he was under investigation. He no longer works for the school district.
O’Dea was released from the Benton County Jail on Feb. 14 after posting a $50,000 bond.