SPRINGFIELD - Convicted earlier this year on 11 counts of possessing child pornography, former local teacher Edgar L. "Ned" Selavka was sentenced this afternoon to a year in jail and seven years of probation.

Selavka, 50, formerly of 7 Treehouse Circle in Easthampton, was sentenced in Hampden Superior Court by Judge Judd J. Carhart.

The judge, who presided over Selavka's plea change hearing April 22, recommended Selavka serve a portion of his jail sentence at the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center, a substance abuse treatment facility run by the Hampden County Sheriff's Department in Springfield.

Defense attorney Michael O. Jennings said his client had a significant marijuana habit before charges were brought against him. Since then, Jennings said, Selavka has gotten fully involved in substance abuse as well as sex offender treatment.

Police linked nine collages and two computer discs containing child pornography to Selavka after the items were found in a Thornes Marketplace restroom Jan. 14, 2007.

For more coverage, see Thursday's Gazette, in print and online.