Federalsburg, Maryland, was searched by police, dozens of handwritten journals were discovered that detailed more than three decades of Ricks's serial sexual abuse. In addition to the journals, police also recovered numerous pieces of video and photographic evidence of the abuse of many young boys by Ricks. Conviction On March 3, 2011, Ricks pleaded guilty to seven charges of producing and possessing child pornography. The U.S. District Court of Alexandria, Virginia, sought the plea to get a long sentence for Ricks and to save the victims the stress of having to testify at a public trial. Over a dozen teenagers had come forward to say that they had been molested or targeted by Ricks. The charges, resulting in a sentence of around twenty-five years, are mostly related to his offenses in Virginia and Maryland, as well as the trips to the West Coast that Ricks invited several students on. References 1960 births Living people Schoolteachers from Maryland American people convicted of child pornography offenses American prisoners and detainees