High School Teacher Sentenced to 23 Years for Producing Child Porn

A Charlottesville, Virginia man was sentenced today to 23 years in prison for production of child pornography, officials announced Monday.

Richard Wellbeloved-Stone, 57, plead guilty in federal court to one count of production of child pornography.  Senior U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon presided over the sentencing and ordered him to serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Wellbeloved-Stone, a high school teacher in Charlottesville, was discovered by law enforcement after chatting online with an undercover agent from the United Kingdom about sexually abusing a young child. 

A search warrant executed at Wellbeloved-Stone’s home recovered several images of child pornography produced by Wellbeloved-Stone of at least two young minor victims, according to officials.

“As a high school science teacher, the defendant held a position of great trust in our society – a trust he abused when he produced horrific images of young children,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.  “Today’s sentence reflects the unwavering commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to combat child pornography and to hold offenders accountable for their deplorable crimes.”

“This defendant, through his heinous acts, betrayed the trust of the Charlottesville community,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen. “We are grateful for the hard work of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in bringing him to justice and making our community safer.”

“Child predators are the worst type of criminals,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Lechleitner.  “They prey on innocent children for their own self-gratification.  While we can’t undo Wellbeloved-Stone’s actions, today’s sentence ensures he can’t victimize anyone else.”