Former substitute teacher sentenced for child porn

By Cara McCoy

Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 | 11:42 a.m.

A former substitute teacher was sentenced today to up to five years in prison for possession of child pornography.

Aaron Ringewold, 26, pleaded guilty in August to two counts of possession of child pornography. District Court Judge Stefany Miley today sentenced him to a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years on the two counts, to run concurrently.

Upon his release he will be required to register as a sex offender.

Ringewold was on summer break from his long-term employment as a substitute science teacher at Mike O’Callaghan Middle School, 1450 Radwick Drive, when an investigation by Henderson Police led to his arrest in June.

“I realize fully that what I did was not right. It was a terrible mistake. I’m sorry for my actions,” Ringewold said before his sentence was handed down. “I’m hoping for a second chance.”

A pre-sentencing investigation determined Ringewold was at a low risk for reoffending and that he had no prior record. His attorney, Mark Anderson, asked the judge for probation, not prison time.

“Aaron would like a chance to turn his life around,” Anderson said.

Ringewold initially faced 17 counts of possession. According to an arrest report, Ringewold told investigators he had an interest in child pornography for about 14 years but recently made the decision to stop viewing and downloading it.

Police said there's no evidence that any of Ringewold’s students are among the children in the seized pornography.

Ringewold told police that about two months before his arrest he had deleted all images and videos containing child pornography from one of his two laptops. He rarely used the second laptop, he said.

In the course of their investigation, detectives found explicit computer files of very young children, according to the report.

Ringewold told authorities he never had physical contact with juveniles and he didn’t communicate with students outside his duties as a teacher. He told police he would never harm a child, according to the report, but admitted to being attracted to young girls.

At the time, he told police that with help of counseling and his new girlfriend, he felt he was able to move past what he told investigators was “a problem with looking at child pornography.”

He told the court today before sentencing that he had a support network of family members, friends and religious leaders willing to help him if he were released on probation. He said he had plans to return to college and that he wanted to become a good citizen again.

He has remained jailed since his arrest.