GERING, NE — A former Gering teacher will serve time in prison after having his charges amended as result of a plea agreement. 

Zachary Boness was sentenced to one year in prison during a court hearing Thursday in Scotts Bluff County. He pleaded no contest to charges of Disturbing the Peace and Committing Negligent Child Abuse. Both are misdemeanors. 

He was originally charged with Attempted Possession of Child Pornography and Knowingly and Intentionally Committing Child Abuse, both felonies, as well as Debauching a minor, a misdemeanor. 

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the Attempted Possession charge and amended the other two charges. 

Boness was arrested in January 2020 after the Nebraska State Patrol investigated a report Boness had requested a sexting relationship from a student through use of the social media app Snapchat in October 2019.