A former Edmonson County teacher who admitted attempting to solicit a juvenile for sex was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years and eight months in prison.

William Lindsey, 30, of Brownsville, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green on charges of attempted online enticement of a minor and attempted production of child pornography.

Lindsey had pleaded guilty to the charges, which stemmed from an investigation involving a detective with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office who posed online as a 15-year-old girl while working undercover.

Court records said Lindsey sent messages of a sexual nature to the detective over the Kik messenger app over a period of several days in 2021.

Later, the two spoke over the phone, and Lindsey repeated his interest in engaging in sex acts with the purported juvenile and encouraged the detective to masturbate while talking to him, records show.

Lindsey was arrested Jan. 13, 2021, after law enforcement traveled to Edmonson County High School and interviewed him.

Lindsey had been a music teacher in the Edmonson County school system, gaining full employment in 2019 following a few years as a substitute teacher after his 2015 graduation from Western Kentucky University.

Speaking publicly for the first time about his case, Lindsey sobbed while addressing the court, acknowledging that he “made egregious mistakes.”

“I don’t know what causes me to do these things,” Lindsey said. “I wanted to stop for so long and I didn’t have the tools for it.”

Federal prosecutors asked for Lindsey to serve nearly 20 years in prison, filing a sentencing memorandum with a formal request that Lindsey receive a 235-month sentence.

Law enforcement reviewed Lindsey’s cellphone and discovered he had communications with multiple juveniles in which he requested sexually explicit pictures from them.

In one instance, a 13-year-old girl responded to a request from Lindsey by sending him a picture of her exposed genitalia, court records said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Sewell said a significant sentence was warranted for what he termed a “brazen child predator.”

“At 30 years old, this is a grown man who could make his own decisions. … Let’s not downplay the harm of what happened here,” Sewell said. “This offender is a repeat and dangerous sex offender.”

Lindsey’s attorney, Alan Simpson, requested that Lindsey be given a 15-year sentence, the minimum under federal law for his crimes.

Simpson noted that Lindsey had community support and no prior criminal record. Simpson also argued that nobody in this case was physically harmed.

“This is one of the saddest cases I’ve ever seen, quite frankly,” Simpson said. “It is truly a sad situation we’re here about today.”

Three witnesses testified on Lindsey’s behalf about his character.

Edmonson County Clerk Kevin Alexander said Lindsey performed well in his office when he was tasked with helping prepare the county for local elections and that he knew Lindsey to be an effective teacher through observing him at a school where Alexander’s brother was a principal.

“He put a lot of effort in trying to help those young people and he made an impact on them,” Alexander said.

Sewell disputed Simpson’s argument that no physical harm occurred from Lindsey’s conduct, saying the sexually explicit correspondence with juveniles would have a “lasting effect” on them.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers said Lindsey embarked on a “brazen pattern of conduct” and needed to be held accountable.

“The fact that he was a teacher who at the same time was soliciting images from people young enough to have been his students is abhorrent,” Stivers said. “It should scare anyone in Edmonson County with children.”

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.