DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says educators do not need to have a current teacher relationship with a student victim to be convicted of sexual exploitation by a school employee. The court in its Friday decision is ruling on an appeal filed by 37-year old Brent Romer, a former teacher in Cumberland and Massena. He was convicted in 2010 of sexual exploitation of minors and sexual exploitation by a school employee and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Court documents say he had sex with a 16-year old girl and photographed other minors partially nude. Romer says he could not be convicted of exploitation by a school employee because he was not their teacher. The court says since Romer was a teacher and the victims were students it’s enough to prosecute.