KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The former wrestling coach at Salina Central High School allegedly used his cell phone to film high school wrestlers in the shower and when later confronted by law officers at his job at a Salina middle school, tried to break the phone.
Ryan Brungardt, 37, is charged in federal court in Kansas with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.
The incidents allegedly happened between Jan. 10, 2024, and Jan. 13, 2024, at the Tournament of Champions Wrestling Tournament at Newton High School.
A school principal in Winfield, Kansas, told law enforcement officers that three minor children were in the locker room during the tournament taking showers when Brungardt came into the locker room, according to a court document. The three victims told their coach they thought Brungardt was filming them while they were in the shower.
Law officers talked with the Newton High School Athletic Director, who told them he was aware of the allegations by the wrestlers.
The Newton High School Athletic Director told investigators he found surveillance video of Brungardt going into the locker room five times in a 45-minute period. Brungardt was looking at his cell phone after one of his trips into the locker, the court document states.
The athletic director also said Brungardt would be in the locker room for about two minutes before leaving.
Law officers reviewed the video from Jan. 13, 2024, at Newton High School. The video showed Brungardt enter the locker room seven times between 3 and 4 p.m.
Officers went to a middle school in Salina where Brungardt worked to seize a cell phone and smart watch seen on the videos.
During the interview, Brungardt snatched the cell phone from law officers and tried to break the cell phone, the court document states.
The law officers and Brungardt battled over the phone as Brungardt continued to try and break the phone.
The phone's battery was punctured and caught fire in the school office. The smoke and fire forced the evacuation of the school, according to the court document.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation sent the phone to the Heart of America Regional Computer Forensic Lab in Kansas City.
Just over two years later, the completed cell phone extraction of the video was given to investigators in the Brungardt case.
The cell phone video showed what the victims told their coach had happened in the high school locker room.
The news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas states investigators are reviewing more seized cell phone videos that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets and tournaments during the 2023-24 wrestling season in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina.
Anyone who thinks they witnessed any crimes or suspicious activities at wrestling events should call the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 785-600-8790 or at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
