BROADALBIN - A town resident who worked as an elementary school music teacher for the Ballston Spa Central School District faces at least five years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to receiving child pornography.
Timothy Brehmer, 35, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Albany to one count of receiving child pornography.
Brehmer admitted that between April 2007 and Dec. 5, 2011, he used the Internet to access various child pornography websites, a Department of Justice news release said. While accessing some of the child pornography websites, Brehmer downloaded multiple still images and videos of child pornography onto his home computer, the news release said.
Brehmer agreed that within 30 days, he will surrender his New York state teaching certificate and resign from the Ballston Spa district.
Brehmer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to the news release.
He was released pending his sentencing, which was scheduled for Sept. 12 in U.S. District Court in Albany.
Authorities said they arrested Brehmer Dec. 6 and impounded his laptop computer, which they said contained dozens of still pictures and videos depicting child pornography.
A federal grand jury indicted Brehmer on two counts of child pornography in March.
Brehmer taught music at the district's elementary schools and was working out of the Wood Road Elementary School complex in Ballston Spa at the time of his arrest.
After authorities notified Ballston Spa school officials Dec. 7 that Brehmer was the subject of a federal investigation into child pornography, he was suspended without pay, school officials said. Brehmer worked for the school for 12 years, school officials said.
Federal officials said the investigation of Brehmer was unrelated to his teaching job.
"There were no school kids involved," Rick Belliss, assistant U.S. attorney, said this morning.
Stuart Williams, coordinator of community relations for the school district, also said Brehmer's child-pornography activities had no connection with the school or its students.
Williams said Brehmer remains suspended without pay pending his resignation. He said the district banned Brehmer from school property after his arrest.
Williams said the district sent home a parent newsletter after Brehmer's arrest.
"There wasn't really a lot of concern other than people wanting to make sure [Brehmer's arrest] had no connection with his work in the classroom," Williams said.
He said the district had no problems with Brehmer before his arrest.
"He was a really involved teacher who did a lot of extra things," Williams said.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit of the Department of Homeland Security.