ROANOKE – A former Virginia Tech professor is headed to federal prison for five years after being sentenced last week on a child pornography charge, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael Horning, 51, of Christiansburg, was sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 15, in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.

The US Department of Justice Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Virginia announced a former Virginia Tech professor has been sentenced to five years in prison for possession of child pornography.

A former professor of communications at Virginia Tech has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography, according to the Department of Justice.

A former professor of communications at Virginia Tech who downloaded hundreds of child porn images - including some as young as toddlers - will be spending time in prison, federal authorities announced.