Court tosses child porn convictions of former Delaware school headmaster

DOVER, Del. -- Delaware's Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a former prep school headmaster sentenced to 50 years in prison on child pornography charges.

In a ruling Wednesday, the court said search warrants obtained by police investigating Christopher Wheeler were unconstitutionally broad.

Wheeler was convicted last year on 25 counts of dealing child porn. He waived his right to a jury trial after a judge denied a defense request to suppress evidence seized by authorities.

Wheeler is former headmaster at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, whose graduates include former DuPont Co. CEO Ellen Kullman, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and television personality Dr. Oz.

Wheeler's attorney argued that authorities improperly used possible witness tampering as an excuse to obtain warrants allowing them to search Wheeler's computers, cellphones and other digital devices.