A former Watauga day-care worker has agreed to a 40-year prison sentence for molesting pre-kindergarten children he supervised and possessing child pornography.

Carl Dale Mason Jr., 22, must serve 20 years before he's eligible for parole, but prosecutor Mitch Poe said it's unlikely that Mr. Mason would leave prison even then.

Mr. Mason pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including seven counts of indecency with a child, two counts of sexual performance of a child, and one count of aggravated assault of a child and possession of child pornography. The crimes involve eight children.

Testimony in Mr. Mason's case was to begin next week, but he suddenly agreed to a plea bargain Friday.

"When his attorney saw the extent of the child pornography that we had [from Mr. Mason], that was pretty much it," Mr. Poe said.

He said 1,400 images – many of them "particularly heinous" – were seized from Mr. Mason.

"Even though the porn was a third-degree felony, it would have held great weight with the jury for the rest of this case," Mr. Poe said.

Ray Hall Jr., Mr. Mason's attorney, said he and his client believed the sentence was a fair deal.

He said he was concerned about how the jury would react to some of the new information, such as the more detailed police reports and the child pornography pictures.

"He would have gotten more at trial," Mr. Hall said.

He said he asked jailers to keep an eye on Mr. Mason in case he became suicidal.

According to police documents, Mr. Mason wrote the day-care center that "I wish there was a way to turn back time but I can't, and I can't even look at myself in the mirror,"

Mr. Mason, a Haltom City resident and son of a registered sex offender, was arrested in September, after a young girl at Children's Palace Christian Learning Center reported inappropriate behavior by Mr. Mason, known at the day care as "Mr. C.J."

Police said that Mr. Mason immediately admitted that he had a problem with children and that he had child pornography.

Investigators started interviewing other pre-kindergarten students he had contact with at the day care, where he worked for two years.

As the weeks passed, the number of victims identified by police grew.

Police documents said that Mr. Mason fondled the girls during nap time, took a picture of one girl's genitals and showed one girl a picture of his own.

Mr. Poe said the parents of the victims were satisfied with the 40-year prison sentence and were relieved that the children wouldn't have to testify.

He said two parents spoke Friday in court in a controlled but angry manner about how Mr. Mason violated their trust.

"They all trusted him and were shocked when they found out that the person they trusted was abusing their children," Mr. Poe said.

During the court proceedings, which included the reading of all 11 indictments, Mr. Mason cried constantly, Mr. Poe said.

"I think he finally realized that he was not going to get out on probation or some other light sentence," Mr. Poe said.