Some of the videos Paul McClain is accused of downloading show pre-pubescent children involved in sex acts, reports NBC 7’s Allison Ash.
The investigation of Paul McClain began in July 2024 when a federal agent using the Internet detected child pornography downloads on a computer that led him to a home in Menifee, California.
Investigators said they later learned that the home was owned by McClain, a sergeant with the San Diego State University Campus Police Department.
“Investigators found multiple videos depicting child pornography,” according to a criminal complaint filed against McClain, “including pre-pubescent child pornography.”
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Nearly nine months after allegedly first detecting illegal activity on his computer — during which time investigators watched his SDSU police vehicle coming and going — federal agents searched his home in Menifee, in southern Riverside County, where they said they found a computer in his office containing several videos of children engaged in sex acts. According to the criminal complaint, some of the children appeared to be as young as 8 years old.
McClain, who is the married father of three children, was arrested days after the search and is now being held on federal child pornography charges.
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According to the complaint, McClain’s wife did not share her husband’s computer, which investigators said had a complex password that would be difficult for anyone to guess.
“I think it’s really disgusting,” SDSU student Simone Caruthers told NBC 7 on Wednesday. “I think it’s disappointing that people we want to put our trust in and rely on are acting this way and doing these really heinous things.”
SDSU police told NBC 7 that they have begun termination proceedings against McClain, who is being held in jail pending his hearing on April 1. He will continue to be paid until he’s had a chance to defend himself, officials told NBC 7.
