He was also found a Tier I and a Tier II sex offender, so will have to register every 180 days for 25 years, the prosecutor’s office said.
Koehler mainly worked at Fairmont High School after he was hired by Kettering City Schools in 2012. He led or helped lead extracurricular music and choir groups, according to district records. The prosecutor’s office said he also was the choir and play director at Kettering Middle School and Van Buren Middle School.
The investigation began Nov. 19, 2023, when a 19-year-old male told Kettering police that while he was in middle school, Koehler had acted inappropriately and exchanged sexual text messages, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The prosecutor’s office said that a search warrant of Koehler’s home and electronic devices revealed two videos showing minor boys in states of nudity, one of which showed a child being sexually assaulted.
Koehler was placed on administrative leave by the school district the next day, Superintendent Mindy McCarty-Stewart said previously.
Koehler was indicted June 12, 2024, and resigned from the schools June 27, the same day that he pleaded not guilty.
He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to four of the six felony charges as part of a plea agreement but withdrew those pleas in October that year before he was scheduled to be sentenced.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
He ultimately pleaded guilty as charged April 18, 2025.
Defense attorney Dennis Lieberman previously said that the charges had nothing to do with Koehler’s position at the school.
“The photographs in question or the videos in question were on his own personal phone and on his computer at his house. It did not involve anybody at the school,” he said.
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