Prison for band volunteer who tricked girl into sending nude photos

A former Naperville Central High School band volunteer was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for tricking a female student into sending him nude photos of herself over the Internet.

Mark Bernal, 35, of Chicago, also must register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

Prosecutors charged him Feb. 14, 2005, with child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child. He pleaded guilty Nov. 7 to possessing the explicit images and faced up to 15 years in prison.

Bernal began volunteering in Naperville Unit District 203 just a few months earlier while working with drummers and other percussionists. He did not have a criminal history.

The then 15-year-old girl met Bernal in an extracurricular music class. There wasn't any physical activity between the two, but authorities said Bernal persuaded her to send him nude photos over the Internet while he pretended to be another teenage girl. Authorities said the girl was unaware that the person with whom she actually was communicating was Bernal. Their correspondence lasted about 30 days.

Police became involved after her parents grew suspicious and contacted them. Detectives armed with a warrant searched his apartment and seized computer and camera equipment that they said contained several pornographic images of minors.

Bernal was free on a $350,000 bond. He was taken into custody Thursday after the Will County sentencing hearing before Judge Daniel Rozak in Joliet.