Former Morgan City Teacher Gets Five Years for Attempted Possession of Child Porn

(KPEL News) - A sentence came down Wednesday from a federal judge, giving a former 32-year-old Morgan City teacher five years in prison after she pled guilty to Attempted Possession of Child Pornography.

Federal Judge Gives 5 Years to Former Morgan City Teacher

Federal officials say that in 2022, Katherine Albarado was a teacher at Morgan City High School. As part of their investigation, officials determined that Albarado made contact with a 16-year-old student.

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Authorities say Albarado used a personal email account to start communication with a young person who she knew was 16 years old. As you will read, what they discussed is not something that should occur between a teacher and student, or any adult and a student.

After the initial contact, she didn't stop there. She kept up the back-and-forth communication with this 16-year-old. They weren't talking about taking notes in class or any projects that were due.

Former Morgan City Teacher Tried to Talk Teen Student into Sex

Federal investigators say that Albarado kept up her communication with the juvenile and was trying to get this young person into having sex. The law is clear that an adult can't have sex with someone who is 16 years old.

Former Morgan City Teacher and Student Exchanged Graphic Messages

According to a statement issued through U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller's office, the messages were described the following way,

They were extremely graphic and included a request for the minor victim to send sexually explicit images of himself to her.

Federal Judge Gives 5 Years to Former Morgan City Teacher

Albarado had earlier decided to plead guilty to Attempted Possession of Child Pornography, and U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays this week gave her the sentence of 60 months behind bars.

Federal Officials Say Officers Are Working to Catch Child Predators

In discussing this case, U.S. Attorney Keller says the goal of the work these investigators do is to keep children safe. Commenting on Albarado, Keller says,

Predators—and especially people in positions of trust—who abuse our children have nowhere to hide in this District,

He added,

(They) will continue to investigate and prosecute those who exploit children for perverse, sexual purposes.

 

Federal Officials Say Monitor Your Children's Communications for Predators

Keller says all law enforcement agencies want to remind parents and caregivers that predators are the reason they must monitor what is happening with their child's communication.

The FBI and the Morgan City Police Department teamed up to investigate this case. Since 2006, the Department of Justice has partnered with multiple law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases like this one through Project Safe Childhood.