BENTONVILLE — A bus driver for the Springdale School District told a Benton County Sheriff’s Office detective he mistakenly downloaded child pornography.
George Thomas O’Dea Jr., 65, of Rogers was arrested Tuesday in connection with distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
According to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Det. Glenn Latham, O’Dea admitted he downloaded up to 200 images of pornography a day. O’Dea admitted he downloaded child pornography but claimed he didn’t do it intentionally and the material was lumped in with other downloads.
O’Dea claimed he would delete the child pornography as he came across the images. O’Dea said he never thought about reporting to law enforcement about coming across the images, according to court documents.
Latham questioned O’Dea about sharing the photographs on a peer-to-peer network because detectives downloaded some of the images from O’Dea’s computer, according to the affidavit.
Deputies went to O’Dea’s home and Latham found O’Dea downloading 30 to 50 files that appeared to be pornographic, according to court documents.
Deputies seized several computers, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, hard drives and picture cards from O’Dea’s home. The affidavit states a forensic examination of one hard drive revealed several hundred sexually explicit photographs of children between 4 and 16 years old. The photographs included children being photographed nude and engaging in sexual acts, according to court documents.
The Sheriff’s Office’s cyber-crime unit was responsible for O’Dea’s arrest, said Sheriff Kelley Cradduck.
The Springdale School District placed O’Dea on administrative leave about a week ago, when district officials learned he was under investigation, said Superintendent Jim Rollins.
O’Dea will remain on leave until the investigation is complete, Rollins said.
Rick Schaeffer, School District spokesman, said O’Dea has worked for the district for about three years. His bus routes include Monitor Elementary School, Sonora Middle School and Springdale High School.
O’Dea was being held Thursday in the Benton County Jail on a $50,000 bond.