2 Sentenced in Child Pornography Cases

A former U.S. diplomat was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday, and a former Prince William County middle school teacher received a 15-year prison term as federal prosecutors continued a high-profile crackdown on child pornography.

Gons Gutierrez Nachman, 42, who admitted having sex with three underage girls while posted overseas for the State Department, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, prosecutors said.

In the same courthouse, John B. Shulick, 53, a former Bull Run Middle School teacher, was sentenced for taking photos of a teenager engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The sentences, announced by high-level Justice Department officials, were part of an escalating federal fight against an increase in Internet-fueled child pornography. The crackdown, which has ensnared people from a variety of professions, has drawn objections from some lawyers and treatment professionals who said the focus on pornography has become excessive.

U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg called the sentences appropriate.

"As these cases demonstrate, individuals producing, receiving and distributing child pornography come from all walks of life," he said.

Kenneth Troccoli, an attorney for Shulick, said the former eighth-grade science teacher "has apologized for his conduct and deeply regrets his behavior."

Shulick pleaded guilty in May to production of child pornography. Court documents said he met a 16-year-old girl from Fairfax County through a social-networking Web site and took pornographic pictures and movies of her.

Nachman pleaded guilty in April to possessing child pornography and misusing his diplomatic passport while a foreign service officer. Court documents say he had sexual relations in government-provided housing with a 17-year-old girl and 14-year-old girl in Congo and with a 16-year-old girl in Brazil.

Nachman's case was noteworthy because he had asked the judge to marry him and his 21-year-old Brazilian fiancee in the courtroom after the sentencing. U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee rejected the request.

An attorney for Nachman declined to comment.