A former Harford County Public Schools music teacher pled guilty Friday in Harford County Circuit Court to four misdemeanor counts of possessing and distributing child pornography.

Dominic Lafrancesca, 27, of Bel Air, was arrested and charged in August with 10 misdemeanor counts of possession of child pornography and one felony count of promotion and distribution of child pornography. Lafrancesca had worked at George D. Lisby Elementary School in Aberdeen since 2022, according to a statement from Harford County Public Schools, which said Lafrancesca was immediately placed on administrative leave.

Harford County Child Advocacy Center detectives began investigating Lafrancesca due to suspicious internet activity; he had allegedly downloaded “multiple sexually explicit images of children that appeared to be between 1 and 13 years of age,” the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Lafrancesca admitted to downloading sexually explicit photos of children when he was arrested, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. He also admitted to sharing the photos online with other adults, according to the news release.

Before working at the elementary school in Aberdeen, Lafrancesca worked as a substitute teacher starting in 2020 at William S. James Elementary, Dublin Elementary, Magnolia Elementary, Bakerfield Elementary, and Fallston High schools, according to the school system.

Lafrancesca was being held without bail at the Harford County Detention Center. According to his lawyer, Timothy Cook, sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22.

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