An Indiana man who spoke with one of the slain Delphi girls on the day she and her friend were murdered has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 25 charges of child pornography, child exploitation, and obstruction of justice.

Kegan Kline was arrested in 2020 and ultimately charged with using at least five fake social media profiles to solicit sexually graphic images and videos from his victims. One of those profiles — “anthony _shots” was used to contact 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year0ld Libby German on the day before they were murdered in 2017, as CrimeOnline previously reported.

There was some suspicion that he knew who had killed the girls, who spent the night together on February 12, 2017, and then went hiking to the abandoned Monon High bridge the next day. Kline repeatedly denied knowing  the identity of the girls’ killer.

Last October, Richard Allen was arrested and charged with two counts of murder in the case. At about the same time, a judge dropped five of the 30 charges against him at the request of prosecutors.

Since Kline pleaded guilty to the charges, he cannot appeal his conviction. He can, however, appeal the sentence, and he told the judge he plans to do so, according to WTHR. The judge also ordered Kline to serve three years probation after his release from prison.

Investigators said they identified six or seven victims among the dozens of photographs found on his electronic devices.

His Anthony Shots account — in which he claimed to be a teen actor and model — was allegedly the last account to communicate with German.

He also used a female catfish account — “Emily Ann” — and often used it to introduce girls to himself.

Abby and Libby’s death

Abby and Libby took a hiking trip at the abandoned Monon High Bridge in Delphi on February 13, 2017, in an outing that was meant to be for a few hours. The girls took photos while strolling across the bridge, but as time passed and their family didn’t hear from them, police were called for assistance.

Police found the girls’ lifeless bodies a short distance from the bridge the following day, near a trail close to the bridge. They had both been murdered.

The incident was nicknamed the “Snapchat Murders” after one of the girls took a photo of the other at around 2:17 p.m. and put it on social media. Detectives said that after the photo was taken, a man approached the girls and apparently told them to “go down the hill.”

One of the girls, likely sensing danger, recorded the man’s voice on her cellphone. She also managed to take a photo and record a small clip of the suspect. Although his face isn’t clear in the picture, it was enough to give authorities a general description. Since then, they’ve been poring through thousands of tips, leading to Allen’s arrest.

“This investigation is still very ongoing. We are keeping the tip line open, not only about Richard Allen but any other person,” Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland said on Monday. “We cannot talk about the evidence in the probable cause or the charging information … today’s about Abby and Libby, focusing on them.”

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[Featured image: Kegan Kline/Miami County police/ “Anthony Shots”/Instagram]