Associate Dean Michael Morris pled not guilty to three child pornography charges at his arraignment Tuesday morning in the federal District Court.
Morris has not been released on bond, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Brian McGinn. He was originally arrested by the FBI on Nov. 6 at his home in Crozet.
“They asked for a formal plea, and he pled not guilty at the arraignment,” McGinn said. “It was more procedural.”
Morris has been charged with two counts of distributing and receiving child pornography and one count for knowing possession. He is accused of logging onto a child pornography sharing site more than 200 times this year and court documents say he used the username “funshooter2006”. If convicted, Morris could face between up to 60 years in prison.
Payments were made to pornography distribution sites via his PayPal account, which was connected to his University email.
Morris has been suspended by the University. A trial date has not yet been set. University administration policy prevents any further comment on this pending litigation.
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