A former Lakota Local Schools elementary school teacher has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for possession and transportation of child pornography.

Ryan Fahrenkamp, 43, of Mason was, sentenced in U.S. District Court Tuesday to 180 months in prison, followed by court supervision for the rest of his life, for assessing child pornography web sites using a laptop computer that belonged to Endeavor Elementary where he was employed as a teacher.

He also was sentenced for taking pornographic images of children who had been former students of his and for possessing child pornography, which he had collected from the internet.

Fahrenkamp pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2011 to one count of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

In May 2010, Lakota school officials contacted the West Chester Police Department after receiving a complaint from a parent that Fahrenkamp was sending text messages to her six-grade child without her permission. He had previously been reprimanded by the school for inappropriately communicating with a student, according to court officials.

An initial review of Fahrenkamp’s school-issued computer revealed that it had been used to access pornographic web sites and contained images of what appeared to be underage males without their shirts on. Some of the individuals were identified as former Endeavor students, officials said.

FBI agents and West Chester police arrested Fahrenkamp on Jan. 3, 2011. He has been in custody since his arrest, officials said.

Fahrenkamp was sentenced to 15 years for transportation of child pornography and 10 years for possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Herman Weber ordered the sentences to run concurrently.

After his release from prison, Fahrenkamp will be required to register as a sex offender . While under court supervision, he is prohibited from access to a computer and from having contact with minors, either physically or online.

Fahrenkamp graduated from Miami University and taught in the Lakota district for 14 years, according to school officials.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxinc.com.