UPDATE: Child porn suspect worked as counselor at SCICON

A 19-year-old male counselor on staff at the Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation known as SCICON was arrested Thursday afternoon on suspicion of having explicit images of minors on a computer, according to the Tulare County Sheriffs Department.

Suspect Matthew Jones of Wales was arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography.

As a counselor, Jones resided at the camp and supervised children, Lt. Keith Douglass said. He was employed by SCICON.

Jones was in the middle of a one year visa. The suspect, from the United Kingdom, also worked at SCICON in 2009.

The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service has been notified of his arrest.

The explicit images were reported to the Sheriff’s Department at about 11 a.m. Thursday, Douglass said. A patrol automobile was sent out and then detectives. A search warrant is being written this morning to search the electronic devices.

A laptop computer, cell phones, and one digital camera were confiscated Thursday, he said.

Douglass stated they have what they need from SCICON and will not be returning to the outdoor school unless something new is discovered that would warrant further investigation.

Extensive computer forensics are being conducted to determine where the images were taken. Deputies are trying to identify potential victims.

According to Sheriff’s Lt. Rob Schimph, the images were not downloaded on to a SCICON computer, but they were somehow shared via Jones’ laptop computer.

He stated another staff member at SCICON had come across an image on another computer and alerted officials who contacted the sheriffs office.

Schimpf said, however, that sheriff’s department computer forensic experts will be analyzing computers and the computer network at SCICON to determine whether or not any child pornography was viewed or shared using the facility’s equipment.

The Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation is operated by the Tulare County Office of Education on 1,100 acres above Springville. The camp is visited by 14,000 fifth and sixth grade students from Tulare County each year for one day or one week visits. Natural science and conservation are taught in an outdoor setting.

The Tulare County Office of Education does not suspect any students were in any of the alleged pornographic images found on intern Matthew Jones computer at the Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation.

The materials appear to be downloaded from the Internet, giving us no reason to suspect Tulare County students were involved, according to a statement by the TCOE.

The Tulare County Office of Education is extremely disappointed by the suspected actions of its intern at SCICON, the statement said.

The allegations have tarnished an otherwise wonderful intern program which has welcomed college students from around the world to SCICON to work and study the environmental sciences for over 15 years, the statement reads.

Rick Mitchell, SCICON director, stated through the statement that interns work in teams to support instruction at SCICON.

Interns go through the same fingerprinting and background investigation as any other employee, he said.

Students are never alone at SCICON, Mitchell said. They are always in groups and supervised by staff members or teachers.

The matter was brought to the attention of SCICON management this week. Although the computer was not the property of TCOE, its information systems department was able to confirm the suspicion of staff members, accordng to the statement.

I am deeply grateful to the staff for bringing this matter to our attention and for the work of our information systems department in supporting the investigation, stated Jim Vidak, Tulare County Superintendent of Schools. I am also grateful for the quick response of the Tulare County Sheriffs Department in this investigation. We continually monitor our technology to ensure that it is properly used to protect the safety of our students and staff.

Anyone with information in regard to this investigation should contact Detective Gezzer with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department Crimes Against Juvenile Unit at 735-1898.

source : www.visaliatimesdelta.com

UPDATE: Child porn suspect worked as counselor at SCICON

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