CHEYENNE — Police investigation uncovered 2,102 images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on a local elementary school teacher’s phone, according to court documents.
Police searched 55-year-old Brian Wrhel’s phone following his arrest on 16 felony counts of sexual abuse of minors related to a series of incidents at Meadowlark Elementary.
The forensic download recovered thousands of images and web searches between December 2024 and July 2025.
The material showed both male and female children from ages 4 to 16, almost always completely nude, and “exhibited the genitals and pubic areas of the children in a lascivious manner,” according to court documents.
Wrehl’s phone contained approximately 2,102 CSAM images, eight CSAM video clips and 5,372 web searches on the site from which the images and video clips originated, the court document said.
Wrhel pleaded not guilty to the child sex abuse charges on Aug. 8. He was out on a $500,000 cash surety bond, which was partially funded by a bond surety company, when he was arrested on nine counts of possession of child pornography on Sept. 16.
Each charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and/or up to a $10,000 fine.
Wrhel’s preliminary hearing is set for Monday, Sept. 29, on the child pornography charges.
Sexual abuse
On May 20, after conducting an internal investigation regarding alleged instances of sexual abuse of minors, Meadowlark Elementary School’s principal called the Cheyenne Police Department to report Wrhel for sexual abuse of female students.
The 10- to 11-year-old girls described varying levels of sexual abuse occurring at school during class starting in August of 2024 and continuing until Wrhel was placed on administrative leave on May 16, according to court documents.
The abuse was observed by a special-needs para-educator, who initially just thought that Wrhel gave preferential treatment to his female students. On May 6, she observed an escalation in inappropriate touching and reported Wrhel to the school’s principal.
Wrhel had demonstrated preferential treatment toward the girls and was only ever observed inappropriately touching girls who were “noticeably skinnier than their heavier female classmates,” according to the paraeducator.
One victim said Wrhel told her, “If it makes you uncomfortable, tell me to stop,” but she had not told him to stop because she was scared of him. She told investigators that she believed telling him to stop would make him angry and “not like us,” according to the affidavit.
Another victim didn’t report the abuse to her mother, despite a classmate urging her to, because she said she was afraid of it getting out to the public, and Wrhel going to jail.
Additional witnesses and victims confirmed these instances of abuse, the affidavit said.
Wrhel was arrested on July 28 on 16 felony counts, including nine counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and seven counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.
Each charge of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor is punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Each third-degree charge of sexual abuse of a minor is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Wrhel’s bond conditions prohibited him from having any contact with minors or the school, including faculty and staff and potential witnesses.