By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Former Lakewood Middle School teacher who was arrested two years ago, has been booked into the Sumner County Sheriff's Office for alleged child sex crimes
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ryan Brungardt (37) was charged through criminal complaint for allegedly creating child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) by clandestinely filming minors showering during a high school sporting event.
He is facing two requested charges of production of child pornography and one requested charge of attempted production of child pornography.
According to Sumner County housed inmates, Brungardt is booked under a U.S. Marshals housing charge or hold. He was booked on Tuesday, March 3 at 8:33 pm.
The defendant made an initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday, March 4, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 9.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), Salina Police Department, and Newton Police Department are investigating the case.
Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets and tournaments in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina, Kansas during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.
Brungardt was arrested back on January 2024 after a search warrant conducted by law enforcement for the cellphone belonging to him. Newton and Salina Police coordinated in the arrest.
Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.