David Lista
Former high school teacher David Lista was sentenced Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court to two years in state prison, three months after pleading no contest to drug and child pornography charges
Lista wept during a 20-minute statement to the court before he was sentenced, according to Elaine Tipton, the county's supervising deputy district attorney.
Lista, 36, emphasized the role his drug addiction played in his crimes, said Tipton, who represented the county during the hearing. The former English teacher at Mills High School in Millbrae was caught earlier this year videotaping female students using the restroom. Investigators found child pornography on his home computer.
David Miller, superintendent for the San Mateo Union High School District, also spoke during the sentencing hearing. Miller emphasized the toll Lista's actions have taken on parents, students and teachers at Mills, said Tipton.
"We have to have a position of honor for the kids," Miller said after the hearing. "Sadly, it was terribly broken in this case."
Miller praised prosecutors for doing "an excellent job on presenting the viewpoint and loss of innocence for the district."
Lista, a Belmont resident, pleaded no contest in August to felony possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of child pornography and two misdemeanor counts for videotaping 19 girls with a camera placed in the false ceiling of the restroom.
http://www.teachercrime.com/california.html
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