A man arrested Friday on 100 counts related to child pornography has been identified in court filings as a custodian for an Arkansas school district.
The Sentinel-Record reported that Paul Benjamin Merritt Jr., 30, of Hot Springs was arrested after FBI agents and detectives with the Hot Springs Police Department found electronic devices containing sexually explicit images involving children.
Merritt worked as a custodian for the Hot Springs School District, filings show. His employment status with the district was not immediately known, as atempts to reach a district representative were not successful Wednesday morning.
The 30-year-old faces 100 felony counts of distributing, possessing and viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, records show.
An affidavit cited by the newspaper states that Merritt reportedly possessed and distributed more than 100 images using his Facebook account.
The custodian later told authorities that he sought, obtained and distributed numerous images of minors on the social media platform. Merritt also admitted to being sexually attracted to girls as young as 10 years old.
Merritt is set to appear in Garland County District Court on Tuesday. He remained at the Garland County jail Wednesday morning without bail set, according to an online inmate roster.
Read the full story in the Sentinel-Record here.
