MILLBRAE, Calif. -- A former Millbrae high school teacher pleaded no contest Thursday to charges that he downloaded child pornography from the Internet and videotaped female students using the school bathroom.

David Lista, 35, a former English teacher and student body advisor at Mills High School, pleaded no contest to one felony count of possession of child pornography, one count felony possession of methamphetamine and two counts of misdemeanor improper videotaping in a San Mateo County Superior Court.

The plea comes after Lista struck a deal with prosecutors, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Lista will face up to two years in state prison and must register as a sex offender, Wagstaffe said.

Police began investigating Lista after a San Mateo High School District tech coordinator identified a server that was overloaded, district Superintendent David Miller said around the time of Lista's arrest. The tech coordinator went to the site and discovered the photos, Miller said, and immediately alerted district officials and police of the incident.

The video images were taken from two cameras, one placed in the girl's bathroom and one positioned at Lista's desk, according to Wagstaffe.

The teacher apparently went through the ceiling of his classroom to install a camera looking down into the stalls of the girl's bathroom adjacent to his classroom, Wagstaffe said. Lista also installed a pinhole camera that was positioned to look up the skirts of female students, Wagstaffe added.

With the video images and the cameras discovered, warrants were issued and investigators seized Lista's home computer, Wagstaffe said.

Child pornography as well as some of the video images from the school were found on the computer, and investigators also located a small amount of methamphetamine in the home, according to Wagstaffe.

Lista was arrested March 6 after the drugs were discovered and released on $125,000 bail with conditions added that he could not contact or be around minors or around elementary, middle or high schools and may only use the Internet to send personal e-mails or job hunt. He pleaded not guilty to all charges April 8.

Lista also pleaded not guilty in May to an additional felony charge of drug possession in relation to an April 4 incident when San Mateo police stopped Lista because they thought his driving seemed impaired. After questioning, Lista handed the officers a snorting tube with a quarter gram of cocaine, according to Wagstaffe.

During a superior court review in South San Francisco today, prosecutors reached a plea agreement with Lista, who pleaded no contest to the two felonies in relation to the possession of child pornography and possession of methamphetamine and the two misdemeanors for the videotaping in exchange for all other charges being dropped, Wagstaffe said.

Lista will return to court Oct. 30 at 8:45 a.m. for sentencing. Two doctors have been assigned to evaluate Lista and determine if he should be considered a sexually violent predator, Wagstaffe said.