By The Telegram

A case involving an Abe Hubert Middle School teacher accused of showing pornographic material to students on a school computer once again has been turned over to the Finney County Attorney's Office.

After additional interviews, police said they are requesting that the attorney charge the teacher, Nathaniel Chaar, with eight misdemeanor counts of promoting obscenity to minors. Initially, the department had requested six counts of promoting obscenity and six counts of promoting obscenity to minors.

The Garden City Police Department began investigating the case on April 17. They allege that the teacher viewed explicit materials from pornographic Web sites on the school computer the previous day and showed the sites to several male students throughout the day.

According to the Finney County Attorney's Office, a decision has not yet been made on whether to file charges in the case.

Meanwhile, the USD 457 Board of Education voted 6-0 last week to give notice of its intent to fire Chaar, who teaches eighth-grade English at Abe Hubert, in connection with the case. A resolution approved by the board stated that Chaar violated the district's technology policy and allowed students to view inappropriate materials on a district computer.

The district initially suspended Chaar with pay. The teacher has 15 days following the board's vote -- until May 14 -- to appeal the decision, before the board could finalize his termination. Chaar had not filed an appeal with the district as of this morning.