Virginia teacher Kevin Ricks was formally sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison on child pornography charges.
Ricks, 51, pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria in March. Prosecutors and his attorney settled on the 25-year sentence as part of his plea agreement.
Ricks admitted that he got boys in his care drunk, fondled them and took sexually explicit photographs and videos of them over a 30-year span as a camp counselor and teacher.
He was an English teacher at Osbourn High School when he was arrested in February 2010 and accused of having sex with a former student. Ricks pleaded guilty to the indecent liberties with a child charge in Prince William County Circuit Court last year and was sentenced to a year in jail.
Federal investigators found child pornography when they searched his laptop after that arrest, leading to more charges. Ricks has admitted that he got students he taught or exchange students he hosted drunk — often with shots of tequila — then stripped them naked, performed sex acts on them, and took photographs, court documents say.
“Mr. Ricks was every parent’s worst nightmare: a master manipulator child predator who sexually abused while leading a double life as a beloved teacher and counselor,” U.S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia Neil MacBride said in a statement.
