Kentucky teacher, another man arrested on child pornography charges
A teacher for Hardin County Schools and another man were arrested Tuesday as part of an ongoing child porn investigation.
Robert A. “Robbie” Thompson Jr., 33, of Hodgenville, was a teacher in the Hardin County schools who previously taught in the Franklin County school system, the Kentucky attorney general’s office said in a news release announcing the arrests.
Thompson faces two counts of possession of child pornography.
Hardin County Schools said in a statement Tuesday night that the school system had notified Thompson Tuesday that he had been terminated from his position as an eighth-grade math teacher at West Hardin Middle School effective immediately.
The other man arrested Tuesday, Matthew Alexander Lyons, 33, of Elizabethtown, is charged with 100 counts of possession of child pornography, as well as one count of prohibited use of an electronic communication system to procure a minor for a sex offense, two counts of the use of a minor under 18 in a sexual performance and two counts of distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, the attorney general’s office said.
The attorney general’s office said its Cyber Crimes Unit got involved in the case when the Radcliff Police Department asked investigators to analyze some devices from a case they were working on.
“During that analysis, investigator Mike Littrell uncovered a 2018 chat between Thompson and Lyons involving pornographic images of minors,” the news release stated.
Lyons was arrested by Elizabethtown police and was being held Tuesday in the Hardin County Detention Center, according to the jail’s website.
Thompson was arrested by Kentucky State Police Tuesday and was being held in the LaRue County Detention Center, the jail’s website shows.
The school district said in a statement Tuesday night that Thompson had been with Hardin County Schools for two years. Before teaching this year at West Hardin, Thompson had taught math for one year at James T. Alton Middle School.
West Hardin Principal Kenneth Elmore said he could not provide any further information about Thompson or the circumstances of his arrest.
“Hardin County Schools is fully cooperating with law enforcement officers,” he said in an email.
The attorney general’s office said more charges are expected in the case.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 6:50 PM.
