PEORIA - A former substitute teacher at several area schools will face five to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced May 9 on federal child pornography charges.

Scott Southerland, 49, of the 1400 block of South Oak Street, pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 to receiving and possess-ing child pornography. That was the day a jury trial was set to begin on the charges.

The federal charges came after McLean County prosecutors filed similar complaints in September against the former teacher. Those charges were dismissed in November after the federal case was filed.

Information from a housekeeper sparked a police investigation in September into Southerland's photo collec-tion. The housekeeper brought police photos she took on her cell phone of images she said she found while clean-ing the former teacher's house. The photos depicted young boys in sexual acts with adult males, according to police.

Southerland's teaching experience includes a fourth-grade classroom assignment at Atlanta Elementary School in 2000 and substitute teaching work in District 87, Unit 5 and Farmer City-based Blue Ridge.