A former South-Western City Schools band director who was accused of receiving inappropriate texts from a female student, including nude photos, pleaded guilty Wednesday to tampering with evidence for deleting the images.

Keith F. Hallas, 41, is scheduled to be sentenced for the felony offense on March 26 by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page.

Prosecutors dismissed two counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor as part of a plea agreement.

Hallas resigned as band director for Central Crossing High School in December 2018, three months after his arrest. He had been placed on administrative leave by the district when the charges were filed.

The former student told Grove City police that between May 2015 and November 2017, while she was attending Central Crossing and was 17 years old, she had sent nude photos of herself to Hallas on several occasions.

Hallas deleted the photos as soon as he received them, Assistant Prosecutor Erik Spitzer said. The timeline of when the photos were sent wasn’t clear, he said, and the student turned 18 that year.

Spitzer said the former student supported the plea agreement.

jfutty@dispatch.com

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