UPDATE: Suspended Kettering music teacher pleads not guilty in child porn case

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Montgomery set a July 18 court date and maintained a $50,000 bond, which Koehler paid several months ago, according to the judge’s office. The case is assigned to Judge Kimberly Melnick.

Koehler will continue on electronic and GPS monitoring, and is prohibited from any contact with juveniles, according to Montgomery’s office.

Attorneys for the defense and prosecution declined to comment after Thursday’s arraignment.

Koehler had been charged six months ago in Kettering Municipal Court on one count each of pandering obscenity involving a minor and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, according to court records.

The increased number of charges in the indictment relate to the number of images the forensic examination of the defendant’s phone discovered, prosecutor’s office spokesman Greg Flannagan has said.

All counts are all fourth-degree felonies, he added. Convictions on each count would be punishable by 6 to 18 months in prison.

Koehler has been suspended without pay by Kettering schools since December and the indictments do not change that status, Kettering schools spokeswoman Kari Basson has said.

Koehler has led or helped lead several extracurricular music and choir groups since being hired by Kettering in 2012, according to school district records.

The indictments came several months after Koehler waived his right to a speedy trial.

On Nov. 19, 2023, a 19-year-old male reported to Kettering police that when he was in middle school years earlier, the defendant had acted inappropriately and had exchanged texts of a sexual nature, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Kettering police obtained a search warrant for Koehler’s home and electronic devices, officials said.

A forensic search of the defendant’s iPhone revealed two videos depicting minor boys in states of nudity. One of the videos depicted a minor child being sexually assaulted, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Koehler was placed on administrative leave by Kettering schools Nov. 20, when the district became aware of allegations made by the former student, Kettering Superintendent Mindy McCarty-Stewart said. The suspension has been without pay since Dec. 7 after he was criminally charged, according to school district records.