UConn Lineman From Chicago Arrested On Child Porn Charges
UPDATED 12/09/10 6:25 a.m.
STORRS, Conn. (CBS) - He's a former Chicago high school player who made it onto a major college football program. But that career may have ended before it really started. CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports.
Greg McKee, 18, is facing obscenity and child pornography charges in Connecticut. Game video from YouTube shows him pushing back defenders.
The 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive lineman got his start playing for King College Prep High School, 4445. S Drexel Blvd. He had enough winning moves to land him a spot on the University of Connecticut's team.
But now, McKee will spend time sitting in jail. He turned himself in to state police in Connecticut -- accused of child pornography.
Connecticut State Police said they launched an investigation after getting a tip in September from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The tip included info on child porn posted on the NING.com social network.
Police say they traced McKee and that he'd been uploading the porn and posting it online. The investigation led to the seizure of some computer equipment from McKee's dorm room last month.
Police say McKee told them he had about 20 videos and 20 images of child porn on his laptop, and that he was hoping to make some money from the files.
Police say the kids shown in the pornography are between 8 and 15 years old.
Connecticut State Police spokesman J. Paul Vance said no other members of the football team are believed to be involved. But he said the investigation was ongoing and more arrests are possible.
The news of McKee's arrest spread quickly across UConn's campus.
"If it's true, that's horrible that he's doing that," said one student.
"Like it's not like it's like some other thing. It's little kids," said another student.
Meanwhile Wednesday night, parents who were picking up students at McKee's former high school were just hearing about the charges.
Grandfather Charles Pinckney said he's concerned about children who don't understand the consequences of their actions.
"I think it's very sad but that's what's generally happening, you know. These children are making these mistakes that's costing them a whole life," he said.
Others hoped parents use McKee's case as a lesson to their kids.
"If you do this, this will happen, that will happen. And the first thing they say is, well you don't know what's going on. You've been there. I feel sorry for these kids nowadays. And I feel sorry for the parents," said grandmother Jean Lee.
McKee was sitting out his first year with the Huskies so that he would have four years of eligibility. Now, he's been suspended from the team indefinitely.
The arrest comes just four days after the Huskies beat South Florida to secure a share of the Big East championship and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl, where they will play Oklahoma on Jan. 1.
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