Columbia man pleads guilty to child sex crimes

MONROE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who was a substitute teacher at a northeast Missouri school pleaded guilty to child sex crimes on Thursday.

Ty M. Gramley was arrested in May after a student said she sent and received sexually explicit text messages, photos and videos with Gramley through Facebook Messenger, according to a probable cause statement. The student said she met Gramley while he was working as a substitute teacher in the Madison C-3 school district.

Gramley pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and two counts of furnishing or attempting to furnish pornographic material to a minor. The plea was an Alford plea, meaning Gramley maintains his innocence while acknowledging the evidence against him would likely result in a conviction.

“I would like to thank the lead investigator Joe Colston for his work on this case, the State Technical Assistance Team for the technical assistance, and the administration of the Madison school district for their cooperation," wrote Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Talley Kendrick in a statement. "It requires everyone to make sure that our schools remain a safe haven for students.” 

Superintendent Shane Stocks said Gramley wasn’t an employee of the Madison C-3 district and worked for a contractor that provides substitutes.