A former Union County high school teacher who admitted that he met with a minor to record a sexually explicit video was sentenced to 22 years and nine months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey announced Monday.

Michael Hamilton, 53, of Springfield, pleaded guilty in April to one count of producing child pornography, the office said.

Hamilton, a former music teacher and band director at Union High School, was arrested in October 2023 after he was accused of engaging in inappropriate chats with minors on a messaging platform, investigators said. He coerced the victims to trade hundreds of sexually explicit messages, photos and videos, authorities said.

Certain photos that the minors sent to him were considered child pornography, federal prosecutors said. Duri

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