Agreement reached for former Great Falls teacher accused of child sexual abuse

GREAT FALLS – William James Harning, a former Great Falls High School teacher who was charged last year after investigators found child pornography on his phone, has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

In December 2021, the principal of Great Falls High School contacted Great Falls police to report that Harning had sent a 17-year-old student an “inappropriate picture of Harning's penis”; the photo allegedly included Harning's face.

Later that day, GFPD investigators contacted Harning in his classroom during prep class and obtained a search warrant for his phone.

Court documents state that Harning's phone was not searched until May 2023 “due to a large backlog of devices” and the results were provided to a GFPD detective.

The detective noticed “numerous” sexually explicit images of children between the ages of 5 and 17, as well as sexually explicit images of Harning himself.

Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent Tom Moore said action was taken immediately after learning of the incident and Harning has been placed on administrative leave. Moore said Harning resigned and has not returned to the district.

Moore said the school district turned over all information to the Montana Office of Public Instruction for investigation and Harning's teaching license has been revoked.

On August 31, 2023, Harning was formally charged in Cascade County with six counts of sexual abuse of children.

On August 29, 2024, Harning entered into a plea agreement in which the six counts of sexual abuse of children were changed to two counts of obscenity, the second of which was dropped.

Montana Code Annotated 45-8-201 states in part:

According to the MCA, a person convicted of obscenity faces a fine of not less than $500 but not more than $1,000, or a prison term of not more than six months, or both.

Under the agreement, Harning must register as a sex offender in Montana and pay a $500 fine.

He was also sentenced to six months in the Cascade County Detention Center, with the entire sentence suspended.