Craig D. Welker, 33, was also arraigned today in Fredericksburg Circuit Court on 125 counts of possessing child pornography.

His bench trial was set for Aug/ 10, the same day he will be sentenced on the distribution charges. He faces a 10-year maximum sentence on each charge.

Welker was working as an earth science teacher, football defensive coordinator and track coach at North Stafford High School when he was arrested in October.

Someone using the screen name “powerade100” had uploaded 13 images to a Yahoo! group, according to evidence presented yesterday. The images depicted girls “well under the age of 18,” according to court records.

Authorities in Bedford County—a state clearinghouse for child porn cases—traced the screen name and an e-mail address to Welker, who was living on Cornell Street in Fredericksburg.

Virginia State Police obtained search warrants for his home and the school, and seized a large number 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 is also charged with 40 child pornography offenses in Stafford; an April 28 jury trial is set there.

Welker is being held without bond in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

To reach ROB DAVIS: 540/374-5418 rdavis@freelancestar.com