After first court appearance, judge keeps bond of Holly Springs High School teacher charged of sex crimes at $180K

Kevin Christopher Chamberlain, 43, of Fuquay-Varina, is charged with six counts of second-degree sex exploitation of a minor, court documents show.

If convicted, he could face up to 36 years in prison.

Chamberlain's attorney tried to get his $180,00 bond lowered, citing his cooperation with authorities and no criminal record.

The state argued his bond should be left as is because of the serious nature of the charges.

Ultimately, the judge left the bond at $180,000 and scheduled his next appearance for March 1.

Search warrants said that Chamberlain shared multiple sexual photos of teenage girls with an undercover police officer online in November and December.

A search of his Dropbox account and email account confirmed the officer's allegations.

Chamberlain was hired by the school district in August of 2012 and was suspended with pay Wednesday pending the criminal investigation.

"I want to assure you that we take the safety of our students very seriously. At this time, we have no reason to believe the investigation involves any inappropriate conduct by the employee at school or with our students," Principal Brian Pittman said in an email to parents Wednesday.