Former Bronx high school teacher guilty in child-porn case

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Bronx high school teacher has pleaded guilty to receiving child porn.

Jon Cruz entered the plea in Manhattan federal court on Friday. Authorities said he paid at least five victims in different states to send him sexually explicit pictures while he was employed as a teacher and debate coach at Bronx High School for Science.

The 33-year-old Manhattan resident pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography, a charge carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is 20 years.

Prosecutors said Cruz carried out the crimes from July 2014 through December 2015 on a school computer. They said he posted a picture of a former student as he enticed teenage boys to send him photographs, sometimes nude.

Cruz's lawyer did not immediately comment.