A teacher who is already in jail on multiple child pornography charges has gotten some more bad news--125 additional charges.
Craig D. Welker, 34, was directly indicted on the new child-pornography possession charges late last month by a Fredericksburg grand jury, according to court records. The indictments were sealed until recently.
Welker was working as a teacher and football coach at North Stafford High School when he was arrested in October. He was later placed on administrative leave.
Police raided Welker's home on Cornell Street in Fredericksburg in October after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Someone using the screen name "powerade100" had uploaded numerous images to a Yahoo group, according to court records. The images depicted children "well under the age of 18," the records state.
Authorities said they traced the screen name and e-mail address to Welker, and state police Special Agent Darryl Wells obtained search warrants for his home and the school.
Seized from the home were a large quantity of compact discs, 8 mm videos, pictures and magazines, according to court records. Welker's laptop computer and other items were seized from the school.
Welker had already been charged with five offenses in Fredericksburg and 40 in Stafford. A city trial is scheduled for March 31; an April 28 trial date has been set in Stafford.
It was not clear yesterday how the new charges in Fredericksburg might affect the pending trial dates.
A source said the new charges stem from the ongoing investigation into Welker's activities. Sexually explicit pictures of children ranging from toddlers to early teens have been found during the investigation, police said.
Welker is being held without bond in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
To reach KEITH EPPS: 540/374-5404 kepps@freelancestar.com