A 48-year-old Arkansas man faces several dozen charges after authorities found sexually explicit photos of children on a phone he gave to a police officer to return to his former workplace, authorities said.
Kenneth Roy Coates, 48, was arrested on 45 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record reported Tuesday.
According to a probable cause affidavit cited by the newspaper, Coates' former employer contacted Hot Springs police for assistance in getting Coates to return a business cellphone he had used before being terminated.
Coates gave the phone to the officer and asked her to "wipe" it clean, the affidavit said, but the officer later saw a photo of a nude girl who appeared to be 7 to 10 years old.
The phone was sent to the state Crime Lab for a search of its contents, and authorities this month reviewed the files and found 45 "lewd" images of children 17 and under, the affidavit said.
Coates, who lives in Malvern, was booked into the Garland County jail on Friday and later released after posting bail. A Sept. 5 court date is scheduled.
Click here to read the full story in the Sentinel-Record or read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
