The former president of Franklin College has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges.

The college's newspaper, The Franklin News, says Thomas Minar, 57, appeared in a nearly-empty courtroom in Wisconsin Tuesday. His attorney, Brett Reetz announced Minar is entering a plea of not guilty for all charges.

In January, Minar was caught sending sexual messages and photos to, who he thought, was a 15-year-old boy. It was actually an undercover cop. After he was arrested, Franklin College fired him. Then in March, investigators found child porn on Minar's phone.

Minar faces 12 counts of possession of child pornography, plus using a computer to facilitate a sex crime and exposing a child to harmful narrations.