CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Former Woodbrook Elementary School teacher Nicholas Clark pled guilty to five felony charges of possession of child pornography in Albemarle Circuit Court on Thursday. He is set to be sentenced on Dec. 2.

Each charge is a class 6 felony and carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Investigators found five child pornography images on devices linked to Clark, plus additional animated or AI imagery of child pornography, and three “concerning conversations,” Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Lawton Tufts said in court Thursday. Those conversations led to a delay in Clark entering his guilty plea, something he had agreed to do last month. Ultimately, prosecutors did not file any new charges related to those conversations.

Clark, a former fifth grade teacher at Woodbrook, was arrested on March 2 and has been held at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail since.

Clark’s defense attorney Alexander Goodman originally told Albemarle Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins during the court’s June docket his client was planning to plead guilty. Goodman asked Thursday that rehabilitation be included in Clark’s sentence.

During his last court appearance on July 27, Goodman and Tufts filed a joint motion to continue the hearing until Thursday, telling Higgins they needed more time to work on an agreement. Tufts told Higgins the Commonwealth was recommending the high end of the sentencing guidelines for Clark.

With Albemarle County Public Schools still dealing with the fallout of the June arrest of another former elementary school staffer, Michael Swiney, who worked at both Hollymead and Woodbrook, on sex crimes, Clark’s case has received additional attention. His case has been referenced alongside Swiney’s by many, including Rep. John McGuire, State Sen. Creigh Deeds, Del. Katrina Callsen and Del. Amy Laufer, who all called for an independent investigation, something the school board announced it has hired a law firm to conduct.