KS coach accused of filming teen wrestlers in shower faces new child porn charge
A Kansas middle school teacher and high school wrestling coach accused of filming teenagers showering during a sports tournament is facing a new child pornography charge after investigators say they found another victim.
Ryan Brungardt, 37, of Salina, was initially charged in federal court with three crimes related to the alleged clandestine filming. But prosecutors announced Tuesday that they are pursuing a fourth count after a review of evidence in the case turned up a fourth child victim.
An indictment filed in federal court on Tuesday charges Brungardt with three counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas says.
Prosecutors said previously the teens were recorded as they showered in a locker room at Newton High School during the Tournament of Champions wrestling tournament on Jan. 13, 2024 — and that additional victims may still be out there.
“Investigators are reviewing additional seized cellphone videos suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets and tournaments in Newton, Hays, Garden City, and Salina, Kansas during the 2023-2024 wrestling season,” the release says.
“Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the KBI at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.”
Brungardt was a Lakewood Middle School social studies teacher and wrestling coach for Salina Central High School in Salina when the teens were recorded. He was arrested at the Salina middle school in January 2024 after three teens reported Brungardt using his cellphone to film them showering. According to an affidavit, security footage from Newton High School caught Brungardt going into the boys’ locker room several times over a 45-minute period.
The teens told authorities that Brungardt had paced around the locker room, held his phone under his arm or in his back pocket while keeping its camera pointed toward them and “would hold his phone in an odd manner while ostensibly using the urinal,” the affidavit says.
“The minor victims found this odd and concerning. In talking with other minors present at the event, they found that Brungardt was acting in this manner with others. As such, the minors reported it to their coach,” according to the affidavit.
Brungardt faces 15 to 30 years in federal prison on each count if he is convicted. He is in custody while awaiting trial after a judge ruled earlier this month that releasing him would pose a danger to the community, court records show.
