BENTONVILLE -- A former Springdale school bus driver admitted he possessed child pornography, and he now awaits sentencing.
George Thomas O'Dea Jr. of Rogers pleaded guilty to 10 counts of distributing, possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a Class C felony, Tuesday morning. He could be sentenced from three to 10 years on each count.
O'Dea, 67, pleaded guilty without the benefit of a plea agreement, so his punishment will be up to Circuit Judge Robin Green, who accepted O'Dea's guilty plea. Sentencing is scheduled for 8 a.m. March 19.
Drew Ledbetter, O'Dea's attorney, declined to comment on the case.
O'Dea was arrested Feb. 12, 2013.
He admitted to Benton County Sheriff's Office deputies to downloading up to 200 images of pornography every day, according to a probable cause affidavit. O'Dea admitted he downloaded the child pornography but claimed he didn't do it intentionally and the material was lumped in with other downloads, according to court documents.
O'Dea said he never thought about reporting the images to law enforcement, the probable cause affidavit states.
Deputies seized several computers, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, hard drives and picture cards from O'Dea's home, according to court documents.
O'Dea was a bus driver for the Springdale School District at the time of his arrest. He initially was placed on administrative leave after his arrest. He no longer works for the School District.
O'Dea is free on a $50,000 bond posted following his arrest.
NW News on 01/21/2015