Former Cooperstown Teacher Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison

An Otsego County man has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for sexually exploiting three teenage girls while he was a teacher in Cooperstown.

Prosecutors say 42-year-old Justin Hobbie of Springfield Center admitted that he had persuaded the girls to live-stream sexually explicit conduct to him over the internet.

Hobbie was a gym and health teacher at the time. Authorities say the incidents occurred between 2015 and 2018.

According to United States Attorney Grant Jaquith, Hobbie targeted girls he met online "by pretending to be a teenage boy and pressuring victims to make and send him sexually explicit video."

Jacquith said Hobbie recorded the acts and images so he could view them again.

Hobbie was sentenced Wednesday in Binghamton federal court by senior U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.