Kentucky child pornography investigation results in arrest of 2 men, including a Hardin County teacher

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky child pornography investigation led to the arrest of two men, including a Hardin County middle school teacher.

Matthew Lyons, 33, of Elizabethtown, was arrested on more than 100 child pornography-related charges. Robert Thompson, 33, of Hodgenville, faces two child porn-related charges, according to the Kentucky Attorney General's office.

Thompson, an eighth grade math teacher at West Hardin Middle School, was fired Tuesday after the Hardin County Schools district learned of the charges.

District spokesperson John Wright said Thompson was in his first year at the middle school and has been with the district since 2018.

“We’re obviously embarrassed that it even happened," said Wright. "You know, it’s not something, obviously, that we’re going to support.”

Thompson, who previously worked for the Franklin County school system, is facing two counts of possession of child pornography. His arrest citation was not immediately available.

Lyons, according to an arrest report, contacted another man via text messages on April 30, 2018, and sent at least two images of a minor engaged in a sexual performance. Authorities allege that Lyons told the recipient that the images were of boys between the ages of 12 and 14.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office said an investigator, while conducting a digital forensic analysis during another case, uncovered a 2018 chat between Thompson and Lyons involving pornographic images of minors.

“This hits particularly close to home for me. I grew up a stone’s throw from where you are right now and went to Hardin County Schools," Cameron said.

Investigators said Lyons on Feb. 16 contacted a 16-year-old boy online and convinced him to engage in the sexual acts. He then asked the boy to send images and videos of the sex acts, according to investigators, and the boy did so.

Investigators said that on April 9, Lyons had more than 1,500 images or videos containing child pornography in his possession. According an arrest warrant, the images and videos were in a passcode-protected app on his iPhone.

“The magnitude of the images that they had," Cameron said. "It really is abhorrent behavior.”

Lyons was arrested Tuesday by Elizabethtown police officers. He's charged with 100 counts of possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, one count of the prohibited use of an electronic communications system to procure a minor or peace officer for sexual offenses, 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 investigation is ongoing, and officials said more charges are likely to be filed.

Cameron wouldn’t say if the victims are locals or students, but he did say, even during COVID-19, his office remains focused on the case and others like it.

“This case is important, because it continues to show that despite what’s going on with COVID-19 that this office can continue to walk and chew gum at the same time," he said.