Former Great Falls teacher charged with sex crimes against children

A former Great Falls High School teacher has been charged with six counts of sexual abuse against children after detectives allegedly recovered multiple pornographic images of children between the ages of 5 and 16 from his cell phone.

According to charging documents filed with the Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, Great Falls police were first alerted to the situation in mid-December 2021, when the principal of Great Falls High School advised Great Falls Police Department detectives that a teacher named William Harning had sent a picture of his genitals to a 17-year-old student at Great Falls High. Harning's face could allegedly be seen in the image.

Later that same day GFPD detectives contacted Harning in his classroom while students were out of the room during a prep period. Harning was allegedly on his phone at the time detectives confronted him and set it down on a table. According to court documents Harning agreed to go with detectives for an interview at the police station, leaving his cell phone behind.

Harning's cell phone was subsequently seized by a detective associated with the Internet Crimes Against Children division of the GFPD, but due to backlogs at the Montana Department of Justice, Harning's cell phone was not searched until August 2023, a year and a half following Harning's initial questioning. Harning chose not to make a statement in December 2021 and was released while the investigation went forward.

In August 2023, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner was brought in to examine images extracted from Harning's cell phone to determine if any of those images constituted Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM). The nurse certified at least six images on Harning's phone rose to the level of CSAM, containing portrayals of children as young as five years old in sexually explicit situations.

This past August, a GFPD detective requested the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) review 370 images recovered from Harning's cell phone be evaluated to identify any additional child victims.

Great Falls Public Schools superintendent Tom Moore told the Montana Television Network on Tuesday that the district took immediate action upon learning of the incident, placing Harning on administrative leave. Moore said Harning resigned and did not return to the district.

Moore said the district turned all of its information over to the Montana Office of Public instruction for investigation and Harning’s teaching license was subsequently revoked.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls High teacher charged with sex crimes against children