MACON, Ga. — A former Georgia high school teacher has been sentenced after pleading guilty to producing and distributing child pornography.

In July, Michael Allen Dendy, 33, of Milledgeville, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Dendy to 33 years in prison.

Dendy taught at Washington County High School in Sandersville from Aug. 2020 until his arrest in Jan. 2023. He also taught at Griffin High School in Griffin from 2018 to 2020.

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received multiple complaints in Dec. 2022 about child porn being posted on the social media platform Discord.

Investigators were informed that several high school students had their images posted there without their knowledge. Investigators determined that the Discord channel was created by an account later linked to Dendy.

The IP address most frequently used to access that account was tracked to Dendy’s home.

Dendy admitted to using fake Instagram accounts and posing as a young boy or girl to communicate with underage students at the high school where he taught to get naked images of them.

Investigators determined that Dendy never met with any of the children in person.

Dendy had been using fake social media accounts to communicate with victims since 2016.

“We are committed to holding people like Michael Allen Dendy accountable to the fullest extent of the law for monstrously preying on adolescents, in this case tricking minors to send him explicit images and uploading them online for other predators to view,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “I am thankful for our law enforcement partners who are dedicated to protecting the innocent and bringing child predators to justice.”