In Final Decision, Teacher Pleads To Misdemeanor

It has been almost two years since it happened, but teacher Julie Amero finally has completed her long trek through the legal system -- and ended up with a misdemeanor charge.

According to news reports, Amero -- who was charged with exposing her students to pornography in 2007 when a series of popups appeared during an Internet presentation -- pleaded guilty to one charge of disorderly conduct and lost her teaching certificate in Connecticut.

Amero originally was charged with a felony and faced up to 40 years in prison after being convicted of four counts of risk of injury to a minor. The convictions were later thrown out after an outpouring of evidence from experts and security researchers, who showed the courts how such popups can occur without the user's consent -- and keep popping up despite the user's efforts to delete them.

Some experts complained that even the misdemeanor charge was too harsh. But Amero expressed relief minutes after making the plea. "Oh, honey, it's over. I feel wonderful," Amero said. "The Norwich police made a mistake. It was proven. That makes me feel like I'm on top of the world."