WESTMINSTER, MD — A Westminster man who teaches at West Middle School and has held positions at a variety of public schools in Carroll County is being charged with soliciting a minor after police said he was caught in a child sex sting in Virginia.

Kenneth Brian Fischer, 39, faces four counts of solicitation of a minor connected to an online chat investigation that the Fairfax County Police Department is conducting out of Virginia, officials said. Fischer was named Carroll County's "Teacher of the Year" in 2006 as a biology teacher at Winters Mill High School. (Get news alerts from Westminster Patch, and like us on Facebook.)

The criminal investigation into Fischer began Aug. 31 when he allegedly contacted a detective posing as a 14-year-old boy, and police said he asked for sexual contact and sent sexually explicit images, likely of himself, using a geo-social cell phone app. Maryland officers helped arrest Fischer at his home in Westminster at 5:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13, according to Maryland State Police.

Fischer was taken into custody while a search warrant was executed by law enforcement from the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Section, Homeland Security, Baltimore FBI and Westminster City Police Department, along with the Fairfax County Police Department. Investigators seized electronics and digital data storage devices, which will be analyzed in Virginia, police reported.

In addition to being a teacher at West Middle School, police said Fischer has held many positions in Carroll County Public Schools since 2000: He was formerly a teacher and/or administrator at North Carroll High School, Winters Mill High School, Francis Scott Key High School, Manchester Valley High School, Sykesville Middle School and Mt. Airy Middle School.

Fischer is being held at the Carroll County Detention Center and is awaiting extradition to Virginia pending a hearing. He has not been charged in Maryland.

Police believe there could be other victims in Northern Virginia and Maryland. Anyone with information about Fischer is asked to contact the Major Crimes Bureau's Child Exploitation Unit at 703-246-7800, Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131 or online through Crime Solvers.

Patch editor Emily Leayman contributed.

