A one-time teacher of the year in the Belton Independent School District now faces up to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material.
Pietro Victor Giustino, 39, was arrested in July 2025 by the FBI after he was caught with images of children engaging in sexual intercourse.
A federal grand jury indicted Giustino for possession of visual depictions of sexual activities by minors.
Giustino’s case had been scheduled for trial on March 30, but he entered a guilty plea on March 10.
Sentencing is set for July 15 before Judge Alan D Albright. Giustino faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
Giustino was a teacher at Belton High School at the time of his arrest.
Belton ISD officials quickly voted to terminate his contract and said there was no indication Giustino’s crimes involved students or occurred on district property.
However, Giustino was arrested again in September 2025 on state charges of invasive visual recording after FBI investigators discovered 13 cellphone videos of female BHS students that the teacher had recorded in a classroom without the girls’ knowledge.
The now-former teacher is due back in the 426th District Court on May 1 for a pre-trial hearing in the state’s case against him.
Giustino was certified to teach science in 2011 and began working for Belton ISD that year. In 2022, he was named Belton ISD’s Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year.
In December 2025, Giustino’s certification was placed on “indefinite suspension” until “final resolution” of his criminal cases, at which time the State Board for Educator Certification will determine if revocation is warranted.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas educators have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in school districts across the state, including several in Belton ISD.
Thousands have been reported to the Texas Education Agency for sexual misconduct.
