A Bullard High photography teacher changed his plea this week to guilty for multiple sexual exploitation counts he faced for acts with a student, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ray Anthony Waller, 39, could be sentenced to decades in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to all three counts, including sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child sexual abuse images and sending obscene material to a minor, according to the court record.
Waller is no longer employed by the Fresno Unified School District, according to prosecutors. His attorney, Richard Mehdi Oberto, said Waller will make a comment at his sentencing on Dec. 14.
“Mr. Waller is extremely remorseful about the harm he caused the victim,” Oberto said. “He pleaded guilty to every charge and accepts full responsibility. He will have more to say.”
He faces a sentence of between 15 and 30 years for the child exploitation charge, between five and 20 years for receipt of child sexual abuse images and up to 10 years for the images he sent, according to the prosecutors. Each also carries a fine of up to $250,000.
The teacher and Bullard student engaged in sexual activity on campus in a photo studio, the court records show.
Waller texted the teen between November 2024 and February 2025 about sexual acts he wanted to carry out, records show. The girl believed he got her cellphone number from a permission slip, according to the complaint.
Fresno police found photos and videos of the teen depicted nude or taking part in other sexually explicit conduct on a “burner” phone that belonged to the teacher, according to court records. He also sent approximately 56 lewd photos to the teen, investigators said.
One text message in the court records read, in part: “It’s not rape if you’re smiling …”
Ray Anthony Waller, 38, was federally charged with sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child sexual abuse images, and sending obscene material to a minor in June 2025. He changed his plea to guilty on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. FRESNO POLICE DEPARTMENT
This story was originally published September 15, 2026 at 12:11 PM.
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.