MILLBRAE (Map, News) - A former Mills High School teacher who allegedly filmed girls in a school bathroom also had circulated hundreds of lewd images of children on the Internet using his home computer, prosecutors said.

David Lista, 35, who faces four felony counts including possession and distribution of child pornography and possession of methamphetamine, did not, however, circulate the images he allegedly captured at the school, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

The teacher faces a pair of misdemeanor charges for allegedly taping students through a camera that he reportedly situated in a tiny hole above a toilet stall, which was separated from his office by a storage closet, authorities said.

Lista reportedly confessed to police he had taped the girls. He kept images of about 19 students using the bathroom on a school computer, prosecutors said.

“We have nothing that would lead us to believe that any of the pictures involving girls at the school were circulated or distributed,” Wagstaffe said.

A technology coordinator at the school found the pictures while investigating a server backup, authorities said. School officials then called police, who searched his home March 6. Police seized Lista’s computer and said they found methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia in the home. FBI analysts later found evidence of the other child pornography on Lista’s home computer, according to Wagstaffe.

Lista was arrested on drug charges and posted $10,000 bail. Charges in connection with the child pornography were filed Friday. He will be arraigned Tuesday, Wagstaffe said. He faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted of the charges.

Prosecutors could not identify the children in the pornographic images found on Lista’s home computer, Wagstaffe said. He said the pictures were probably acquired from a wide-reaching pornographic trade.

Lista, a Mills teacher since 2002, confessed to police that he had videotaped the bathroom before Christmas and again on Valentine’s Day, a school district official said. At the time he was arrested, Lista was on probation for a drunken driving conviction he incurred three years ago.

The district was never notified of the infraction from the California Department of Justice, said Ethel Konopka, San Mateo Union High School District associate superintendent.

When notified, human resources officials with the district are required to meet with the employee to discuss possible disciplinary actions or termination, Konopka said. Lista did not have any prior offenses when hired, she said.

For the drunken driving conviction, Lista served 48 hours in the county jail work program, was fined $1,700 and was placed on three years’ probation, court records show.

maldax@examiner.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

11:16 AM MST on Sun., Apr. 20, 2008 re: "Ex-teacher linked to more porn"

Examiner Reader said:
you can thank the SMUSHD board for mismanaging the rebuild of mills HIGH school...they totally screwed it up and ironically that's how this clown could set up his toilet cam.

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5:52 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Ex-teacher linked to more porn"

Brunhilda said:
Mills College, you say? He's photographer for National Geographic!

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5:50 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Ex-teacher linked to more porn"

underoo said:
those photos were supposed to be part of next season's America's Next Top Model - he's a fashion photographer - some people get so excited!

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5:48 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Ex-teacher linked to more porn"

exminer reader said:
typical crank driven perversions - most meth users do this sort of thing all the time - I hate meth users!

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4:06 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Ex-teacher linked to more porn"

birkle of Millbrae said:
Lista is a champion among mere ants. God Save David Lista. <3

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1:33 PM MST on Sat., Apr. 5, 2008 re: "Ex-teacher linked to more porn"

Parkside Pete said:
Aww, cut the dude a break. He's a great teacher and should get a raise. He should be principal of Mills High School. He could run the computer skills program. He should run for Governor of New York or Mass.

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12:04 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "English teacher at Mills allegedly taped girls in bathroom"

Examiner Reader said:
that guy is seriously sick... i think he has no life what so ever...that is sooooooooooooooooooo wrong...that gives a bad example for the students at mills high and i think he actually scarred the girls for life...i hope he is sorry for what he did...that pervert

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4:29 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "English teacher at Mills allegedly taped girls in bathroom"

Examiner Reader said:
It's awful that schools are so hard up for teachers that they employ losers like this one. Don't they give them some kind of mental testing before hiring? Very scary. This guy needs to go to prison, the kind where the other inmates don't like child molesters...if you know what I mean.

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9:03 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "English teacher at Mills allegedly taped girls in bathroom"

Examiner Reader said:
We need to throw the book at this man. We should never forget how many lives have been permanently altered by his perversion. 750+ girls in the student body at Mills will never feel 100% safe in the bathroom anywhere ever again!

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11:10 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 12, 2008 re: "English teacher at Mills allegedly taped girls in bathroom"

Examiner Reader said:
Off with his head Lewis Carroll

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10:30 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 12, 2008 re: "English teacher at Mills allegedly taped girls in bathroom"

Examiner Reader said:
And will the Teacher's Union rush to the defense of this drug-abusing pervert? This guy needs a long prison sentence and his teaching credential revoked permanently!

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6:37 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 12, 2008 re: "English teacher at Mills allegedly taped girls in bathroom"

disgusted citizen said:
this guy is just a sick pervert

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