A former Virginia Tech professor was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for downloading child pornography, including images and a video of infants and toddlers, over the past decade.
Michael Horning, 51, of Christiansburg, pled guilty in September to a one-count information charging him with knowingly possessing one or more visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including prepubescent minors and minors who have not yet attained 12 years of age.
Horning was a professor in the Department of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Services at Virginia Tech. He taught multimedia reporting and visual media. According to his university bio, he received his bachelor’s degree from Liberty University, a master’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University
According to an article on Virginia Tech’s website, he was a tenure-track faculty member hired in 2014. Horning’s research interests included the social and psychological effects of communication technologies including developing and testing mobile and Web-based applications that support engagement with local news and community service organizations. He was also quoted in a Virginia Tech Magazine article discussing online privacy in 2021.
According to court documents, Horning downloaded child pornography between 2009 and 2021, sometimes through use of the peer-to-peer filesharing program, Freenet.
At the time his electronic devices were seized in December 2021, Horning was in possession of 663 images and 14 videos depicting child pornography.
He also possessed child sex abuse material including 38 images and one video that depicted infants or toddlers and one video featured sadomasochism.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Scheff prosecuted the case.
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Crystal Graham
