OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WJTV) –  A former Oceans Springs substitute teacher has been sentenced on sex crime charges.

WXXV reported Keshawn Belcher, 22, pled guilty on Monday, August 19 to one count of touching a child for lustful purposes and five counts of exploitation of a child.

A judge sentenced Belcher to 15 years for touching a child for lustful purposes. He was also sentenced to concurrent terms of 40 years with 20 years suspended on each of the exploitation counts.

Once Belcher has been released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender.

Belcher, a former substitute teacher at Ocean Springs Middle School, was arrested in April 2023 and was booked into the Jackson County Jail.

Ocean Springs police said an investigation began after a student reported Belcher. They said the case centered around allegations that Belcher sent inappropriate sexual content to students via Snapchat.

According to the indictment, the alleged incidents were committed against two female students and one male student at the middle school.