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Ex-UConn Football Player Sentenced In Child Porn Case

VERNON — A former University of Connecticut football player was sentenced Friday in Superior Court to one year in prison for possession of child pornography. Gr...

VERNON — A former University of Connecticut football player was sentenced Friday in Superior Court to one year in prison for possession of child pornography.

Gregory J. McKee had pleaded guilty in April to one count of third-degree possession of child pornography. He entered the plea under the Alford doctrine, meaning he did not admit guilt but conceded he probably would have been found guilty at trial.

McKee, 20, was a redshirt freshman offensive tackle at the time of his arrest in December of 2010. He did not play in any games and left UConn for his hometown of Chicago before his arrest. He returned to Connecticut to turn himself in, a university spokeswoman said.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Leaming said that McKee told police he intended to trade the pornography for money, but that she could not prove McKee had a sexual interest in children.

McKee’s full sentence is five years in prison, suspended after one year and 10 years of probation, which he will serve in Illinois. While on probation, McKee is not allowed to be around minors under 16 without supervision, he must register as a sex offender and cannot use the Internet unless probation allows it.

McKee must also undergo a sex offender evaluation. Depending on the results of the evaluation, he might also have to go through sex offender treatment.

McKee said in court that he had just started his life as a college student when he was arrested. “I had many things going for me,” he said. “For now, I’m going to trust in God.”

He said he hopes become a successful person by developing the skills he has.

McKee’s attorney, Diane Polan, said her client was trying to build computer games when he became involved with “unsavory characters” online. “That’s how the child pornography got on his computer,” she said.

Polan said this is a tragic situation that will have a profound impact on the rest of McKee’s life. He has a supportive family and, Poland said, “hopefully, that can carry him through.”

McKee’s parents and sister attended the sentencing.

McKee’s father, Gregory McKee Sr., said his family was not willing to risk a possible 20-year sentence for his son if he were convicted at trial — even though they had evidence that disputed the state’s case.

“I want to, with all due respect, express my disappointment with the process,” he said.

The charges against McKee grew out of a tip sent by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to the state police computer crimes unit. The tip from Ning.com, a social networking site, said two users had uploaded videos that appeared to be child pornography.

A state trooper tracked the source of the videos to an e-mail account at the University of Connecticut controlled by McKee, according to the warrant for his arrest.

The videos ranged in length from six seconds to two minutes and 40 seconds and showed children that state police estimated to be 8 to 15 years old engaged in sex. Others showed an adult and a male teen engaged in sex.

In a brief interview, state police said, McKee admitted that he downloaded the videos from links provided by people he met online. He said he uploaded the videos to Ning.com for someone he met online who was going to pay him for doing it. He said he was unable to contact that person after posting the videos.

A search of McKee’s laptop by state police turned up 96 still images of child pornography and 26 videos, Leaming said in April.

By Hilda Munoz, Hartford Courant

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