A Hardin County middle school teacher has been arrested on child pornography charges.
The Kentucky Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit arrested 33-year-old Robert Alan Thompson Jr., of Hodgenville, and charged him with two counts of possession of child pornography.
Thompson, who was terminated Tuesday, was a math teacher at West Hardin Middle School. He joined Hardin County Schools in 2018 as a teacher J.T. Alton Middle School after previously teaching in Franklin County.
Also arrested was Matthew Alexander Lyons, 33, of Elizabethtown, who was charged with 100 counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of use of a minor under 18 in a sexual performance, two counts of distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, and prohibited use of an electronic communication system to procure a minor for sex.
The arrests stem from a request made by the Radcliff Police Department for assistance from the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit in conducting digital forensic analysis on devices from a current case.
During that analysis, investigators uncovered a 2018 chat between Thompson and Lyons where Lyons sent two photos to Thompson of minors engaging in sex acts, officials said. The children in the photos are thought to be between 12- and 14-years-old. Lyons is also accused of inducing a minor, believed to be 16-years-old, to engage in sexual performances via electronic communication in February of this year.
Thompson was lodged in the LaRue County Detention Center while Lyons is being held in the Hardin County Detention Center.
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are likely.
(Headline photo: Robert Alan Thompson Jr.)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
