A federal judge has refused to dismiss an indictment against a former Delaware teacher facing child sex charges.
The judge on Monday rejected Joshua Rutherford's argument that the decision to prosecute him in federal court, rather than state court, violated his constitutional rights.
Rutherford, a former Smyrna High School teacher and track coach, is charged with two counts each of seeking child pornography and attempted inducement of a minor. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
In state court, Rutherford would have faced a maximum 28 years in prison.
Authorities say Rutherford chatted online with an undercover investigator posing as a 14-year-old girl's father and expressed interest in meeting the girl for sex. Prosecutors say he also boasted of a past sexual encounter with a real high-school-aged girl.
