Former teacher pleads guilty to child porn charges

A former St. Elizabeth High School teacher has pleaded guilty to charges of distributing child pornography.

25-year-old Stephen Strobel was charged in a 4-count indictment in November 2014. On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty in federal court.

According to investigators, in April 2014 a woman in Ohio learned her 13-year-old daughter had been in sexually explicit internet chat sessions with Strobel. In May of that year, Strobel admitted to exchanging pornographic images with the girl, who had also sent him explicit photos and a video.

Strobel also admitted to trading photos of underage girls with various people over the internet. Authorities reported finding around 500 images and one video showing child porn on Strobel’s phone.

Federal law mandates Strobel must serve at least five years in prison, the mandatory minimum sentence, but may get up to 20 years in federal prison.

Strobel was a band teacher and track coach in the St. Elizabeth R-4 school district.