A San Diego State University police officer has found himself on the other side of the law after he was charged with a crime against children. NBC 7’s Omari Fleming reports.
Federal authorities arrested a San Diego State University police officer for possession of child pornography, the university's chief of police said Tuesday.
The officer, who was identified by NBC 7 on Wednesday via court documents as Paul Aurelio McClain, was arrested on March 13 and charged a day later with downloading child pornography to his personal computer.
“It’s terrible, disturbing," Brandi Sherman, a freshman at SDSU, told NBC 7.
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Fellow Aztecs Leony Perez and Alyssa Rodriguez called the incident “disgusting and gross.”
Chief of University Police Gregory Murphy says Homeland Security's Cyber Crimes Investigators Unit launched the investigation and notified his department of the off-campus arrest the same day it happened. In a statement, Murphy called the allegations disturbing.
“No child – and no one – should ever experience exploitation, and to also recognize the pain and upset this has caused within our organization. This is painful, and these cases can be especially difficult for survivors of abuse," Murphy said.
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“My heart just dropped," retired Los Angeles Police Department Detective Moses Castillo said.
The 30-year police veteran investigated officers accused of sexual misconduct. He said that all of McClain's cases should be investigated for impropriety.
“Victims of sexual assault, especially at the hands of someone like police assault, they’re afraid to come forward because they are wondering, 'Who is going to believe me about a police assault?'" Castillo said.
Murphy said that because of employee privacy laws, the officer's name wasn't released by officials on Tuesday but, he said, the department had begun the process of firing him.
"It’s definitely comforting to know they’re taking action and they’re not just giving him a slap on the wrist," Sherman said.
Though she and some students take comfort in the university's swift action, they say their trust in the school's police department is now tarnished.
“It paints a bad image because we’re supposed to be trusting them, and it just adds to an image of not being secure of who were supposed to be trusting,” Hector Gomez, a senior at SDSU, told NBC 7.
“It makes me uncomfortable to know there are people that are supposed to be protecting us exploiting children or watching videos of kids being exploited, so it doesn’t make us feel safe," Sherman said.
Murphy said McClain is in custody and help is available on campus at University Support Services.
