A former Hillsboro elementary school teacher will spend at least 16 months in state prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to possessing explicit images of children.

Brett Howard Cunningham pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree invasion of privacy and first-degree encouraging child sex abuse on the second day of his trial in Washington County Circuit Court.

The 41-year-old admitted to taking a photo depicting “intimate areas of a child” in the restroom of Orenco Elementary School, where he worked at the time, authorities said.

Prosecutors say Cunningham also agreed to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse in Multnomah County, where he duplicated the explicit files in his Portland home.

Cunningham will remain out of custody until his Multnomah County sentencing in February. His Washington County punishment includes 36 months of probation that will run concurrently with the prison sentence, according to court documents.

“The safety and wellbeing of our students is our top priority, and we have zero tolerance for behaviors that could jeopardize students’ welfare,” Orenco Elementary Principal Allison Combs wrote in a letter to parents after Cunningham was indicted. “Obviously, we are devastated by this situation.”

The investigation began in April 2020 after Google detected images and video of sexually explicit material on Cunningham’s account, locked the account and alerted authorities, according to court papers. Cunningham complained to Google that he was a teacher and needed access to his lesson plans, the documents said.

Investigators determined the images featured children ages 6 to 8, the court documents said.

The photo taken at Orenco Elementary showed a child using a urinal and Cunningham’s reflection in the restroom mirror as he snapped the picture, prosecutors wrote. Authorities said no other students were involved in the case.

Officials said Cunningham was immediately barred from the elementary school in May 2020, but remained on administrative leave until September 2020, when the indictment was filed. Cunningham resigned at that time in lieu of termination.

Cunningham substituted at Orenco Elementary before being hired in 2014 and previously had taught second, fourth and fifth grade there, according to the school. Officials said he passed a background check at the time he was hired.