Youth minister who swapped images of child sex abuse with KY superintendent is sentenced
An Indiana youth minister who exchanged pictures showing child sexual abuse with a Kentucky school superintendent has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison.
The investigation into the minister, Aaron Paul Lockman, 24, began with the arrest of Matthew Constant, former superintendent of Owensboro Public Schools, the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Southern District of Indiana said in a news release Friday.
Constant, 54, who was initially arrested in 2023 on state charges, later pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced last year to 30 years in federal prison for online enticement of a minor, receipt of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a minor and transferring obscene material to a minor.
During the investigation, the U.S. attorney said “agents uncovered WhatsApp conversations between Constant and Lockman in which the two discussed their shared sexual interest in children and exchanged illegal images of child sexual abuse.”
Lockman, 24, of Corydon, Ind., was a youth minister at a Jasper, Ind., church.
“In that role, he was entrusted with supervising young boys and frequently took them on one‑on‑one outings, including trips to local restaurants,” the release stated. “Agents later searched Lockman’s church‑issued computer and cell phone, where they found multiple videos depicting minors under the age of 12, including material involving abusive conduct.”
Lockman pleaded guilty in federal court to nine counts of possessing sexually explicit material involving minors.
In addition to serving nine years in prison, Lockman will be on supervised release for five years and was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution.
