TOLEDO — A former Lima elementary school teacher and Elida school board member pleaded guilty Tuesday to four child sex charges that could send him to prison for 20 years.
Brian Anders, 36, pleaded guilty to four counts of receipt of material involving the sexual exploitation of a child. U.S. District Court Judge Jack Zouhary ordered Anders remain in custody in the Lucas County jail.
Anders is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 16.
The charges allege a series of times between January 2011 and August 2014 in which Anders was in receipt of material involving the sexual exploitation of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Anders originally was charged in state court but those charges were dismissed in November and he was indicted in federal court where he would face tougher penalties.
Anders was a music teacher at Freedom Elementary School and an Elida school board member from 2006 to 2013.
The Lima Police Department and the FBI began investigating Anders last year after receiving information in April from Allen County Children Services about a report of a child who was sexually abused. Investigators identified Anders as a suspect and learned he was an elementary school teacher in the Lima City School District, a music director at a local church, and social media said he was a director of a boys choir in Van Wert, according to court records.
Officials said Anders met the 15-year-old victim on an Internet site in February 2014. They communicated and eventually met to have sex. The case led to a further investigation that led to the current charges.
Anders developed two Facebook profiles under false names and used the profiles to meet teenage boys in at least two local high schools including the Lima school system where he worked. He told investigators he had a sexual relationship with an 11th-grader from Lima Senior High School.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
