BENTONVILLE — A Springdale School District bus driver was formally charged Friday with possessing child pornography.
George Thomas Odea Jr., 65, of Rogers was charged with 10 counts of distributing, possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a Class F felony. He could be sentenced from three to 10 years in prison on each count if convicted.
Odea is accused of using a computer to possess and view numerous child pornography images. Odea was arrested Feb. 12 and was released from the Benton County Jail on Feb. 14 after posting a $50,000 bond. Odea’s arraignment is set for 8 a.m. March 25 in Circuit Judge Brad Karren’s court.
According to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Detective Glenn Latham with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Odea admitted to downloading up to 200 images of pornography every day. Odea admitted to downloading child pornography but claimed he didn’t do it intentionally and the material was lumped in with other downloads. Odea said he never thought about reporting the images to law enforcement.
Latham questioned Odea about sharing the photographs on a peer-to-peer network because detectives downloaded some of the images from Odea computer, according to the affidavit.
Deputies went to Odea’s home where Latham found Odea downloading 30 to 50 files that appeared pornographic in nature, according to court documents.
Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies seized several computers, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, hard drives and picture cards from Odea’s home, according to court documents.
The affidavit states a forensic examination of Odea’s computer hard drive revealed several hundred sexually explicit photographs of children between the ages of 4 and 16. According to court documents, the photographs included children being photographed nude and engaging in sexual acts.
The Springdale School District placed Odea on administrative leave when district officials learned he was under investigation, according to Superintendent Jim Rollins.
Rick Schaeffer, School District spokesman, said Odea has worked for the district for about three years. His bus routes include Monitor Elementary School, Sonora Middle School and Springdale High School.