A former Hardin County middle school teacher has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child porn charges.
Robert A. Thompson Jr., 33, of Hodgenville, was indicted on two counts of online enticement of a minor and production of child pornography.
Thompson was formerly a teacher at West Hardin Middle School. He was terminated after being charged by the state with possession of child pornography in April 2020. He joined Hardin County Schools in 2018 as a teacher at J.T. Alton Middle School after previously teaching in Franklin County.
According to the federal complaint, following execution of a state search warrant, Thompson told investigators that he received two pictures of underage boys, ages 13- and 14-years-old, from 33-year-old Matthew A. Lyons, of Elizabethtown.
Lyons was charged by the United States Attorney’s Office in April 2020 with over 100 child exploitation offenses, including sex trafficking of a child, online enticement, and attempted production of child pornography.
A detective with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office Department of Criminal Investigations conducted a digital forensic examination of Thompson’s phone, and during the examination, police discovered Thompson’s social media discussions with a minor.
Further investigation revealed that the minor was Thompson’s former middle school student. During the online communications, Thompson urged the minor to send sexually explicit images to him, which the minor did, according to authorities.
The online enticement charge carries a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life in prison. The production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
