BOARDMAN — A former Poland teacher who resigned in disgrace has been indicted on charges of possessing child pornography.

Troy Massey, 58, of Washington Boulevard Apartments in Boardman, is free on $50,000 cash or surety bond after his arrest Tuesday following a secret indictment from a Mahoning County grand jury.

The indictment, filed Feb. 6, charges Massey with two counts of “pandering in obscenity involving a minor or impaired person” and 12 counts of “illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance.” The pandering charges and two of the illegal use charges are second-degree felonies, and the rest are fifth-degree felonies.

The charges stem from multiple incidents that allegedly occurred in June. Massey is accused of not only possessing the obscene material but also distributing it to others.

Sgt. Michael Sweeney of the Boardman Police Department said the process of obtaining the indictment has been long, but thorough.

Police received a tip from through the national Internet Crimes Against Children task force. Companies like Google and other website operators are required by law to notify ICAC if they see something that appears to be pornographic or some other form of exploitation of children.

When they received the tip in June, Sweeney said they moved swiftly.

“As for how the investigation proceeded, we moved rather quickly,” he said. “The end goal is protecting kids. My belief is that we never want to wait on these things and then have something else happen while we’re trying to gather information.”

Sweeney said police quickly secured a search warrant to seize Massey’s electronics. The months since have included a full forensic investigation of the devices and material by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification.

Sweeney said he also was out of the state for 10 weeks for training, and the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office preferred to have him available to present the case to the grand jury.

Massey resigned from Poland High School after a 19-year career as a science teacher and track coach after allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a student led to a school board investigation.

The complaint originated with the parent of a 2007 Poland Seminary High School graduate, who accused Massey of inappropriate interactions with the girl while she was still a student and minor.

Shortly before his resignation, police found Massey running between parked cars at Fireman’s Field on Riverside Drive in Poland after he had been out with the girl, who was then 18.

When police gave him a breath test for alcohol, he tested at nearly double the legal limit of .08, and the girl gave him a ride home.

The investigation into Massey’s conduct eventually reached the Ohio Department of Education. According to a consent agreement dated Jan. 5, 2010, Massey was found responsible for “conduct unbecoming a licensed educator by violating appropriate teacher-student boundaries.”

The terms of the agreement required him to let his license lapse after its proper expiration date in 2011 and not to reapply for any teaching license or certificate in Ohio.