African and African American studies and English professor J. Martin Favor pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge at his change-of-plea hearing in the U.S. District Court in Concord this morning.
Favor could face up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and a term of supervised release. He will be sentenced on July 11.
Favor was arrested last year on Sept. 4 for the alleged possession of child pornography. Five complaints filed by the police on the day of Favor’s arrest allege that Favor knowingly had in his possession videos depicting the graphic sexual abuse of several prepubescent boys and a prepubescent girl. At his arraignment last year, Favor pleaded not guilty.
In November, federal authorities took over the case. The five state-level charges against Favor were replaced with one federal count of possessing child pornography.
George Ostler '77, of DesMeules Olmstead & Ostler, is representing Favor.Ostler served as an attorney for Alpha Delta fraternity last year, when the house was suspended and subsequently derecognized as a student organization. Nick Abramson is representing the U.S.
Favor will remain on paid administrative leave while Dartmouth evaluates the situation, College spokesperson Diana Lawrence said in an email.Favor has been a professor at the College for 22 years and formerly chaired the African and African American studies program.
This story will be updated as more information is reported.
