RALEIGH - A former social studies teacher confessed his sex addiction Tuesday while pleading guilty to 10 counts of second-degree exploitation of a minor -- a crime that will bring 20 days in jail and five years of probation.

Jason Garant Perkins, 39, gave an emotional speech after a prosecutor described nearly 200 images of child erotica and pornography found on his home computer, including video of children engaged in sex.

"I soothed myself it was only a fantasy world," Perkins said, adding that he has since joined Sex Addicts Anonymous and a 12-step program called Celebrate Recovery.

Perkins of Morrisville taught middle school students at Woods Charter School in Chapel Hill until abruptly resigning just before charges were filed in April.

His wife, Kelly, spoke tearfully of losing friends, selling nearly all their possessions to pay bills and, worst, having to send her 12-year-old son to live with his biological father out of state while the case progressed.

"How do you choose?" she asked. "How do you break your own heart in half?"

Perkins allowed an agent with the State Bureau of Investigation to search his computer in March, where a folder labeled "Not Funny Stuff" was discovered.

Images were labeled in such a way that no one could mistake that they involved minors, said Wake Assistant District Attorney Melanie Shekita.

She noted, though, that Perkins had taken uncommon steps to correct his problem, such as joining Sex Addicts Anonymous, before entering his plea.

Perkins' computer is filtered for sexual content, he told the court, and he spends only about 15 minutes a day out of the company of his wife, employer or customers at the store where he now works.

"What started off to be very alarming, at least, I feel much better about today," Shekita said.

Perkins received a 16- to 20-month suspended prison term and 60 months of supervised probation so that he can complete lengthy recovery programs. Perkins must also serve 20 days of active time on weekends.

Further, Perkins must register as a sex offender, submit to random computer searches and complete the state's sex offender control program.

He will be allowed to be with his own two children and stepson.

Perkins spoke of feelings of being both unloved and unloveable -- deeply rooted in a childhood his attorney described as difficult. He also described trouble with substance abuse that led him to seek an escape through sex.

Through his recovery groups, he has found people with the same problem, and he now has a sponsor to help him avoid relapsing into destructive old habits.

"I sincerely hope I can help other men find freedom for these behaviors that are unmanageable," Perkins said. "All the steps I have taken are only the beginning of a very long process."

In the end, Shekita asked that Perkins' personal computer seized in the investigation be destroyed.

Perkins nodded "Yes."

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