A disgraced New York City teacher could spend decades behind bars after he was caught with a thumb drive full of child porn, including gruesome images of infants being sexually abused.
Joseph Taylor McKeel, a former biology teacher at Independence High School in Hell’s Kitchen, pleaded guilty plea to possession of child pornography in Brooklyn Federal Court on Tuesday, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
McKeel was arrested on his way to work in March, while he was carrying a backpack that contained a thumb drive with over 150 images of child sexual abuse and a pipe used for smoking methamphetamine, prosecutors said.
The perverted educator — who used the online username “NYSubSlut” — was discovered by the FBI after undercover operatives with the Scottish police caught him trading child porn over Zoom in September.
McKeel was in the meeting with an online group called “Just guys and football” — who were suspected of sharing child porn, the feds said.
His username’s IP address was traced back to him, leading US federal agents to obtain a search warrant for his home. There, investigators uncovered another device containing child sexual abuse material, prosecutors added.
McKeel’s name was scrubbed from the Independence High School website after the bust.
He was previously released on a $200,000 bond and ordered by Brooklyn Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon to be placed in a drug treatment program.
“McKeel possessed graphic images of child sexual abuse, including sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, all while employed in a position of trust as a high school biology teacher,” US Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement.
“Prosecuting those who victimize children by feeding the market for child pornography will always be a top priority of our Office and our law enforcement partners,” Nocella added.
McKeel faces 20 years behind bars at his sentencing.