PEORIA, Ariz. — A Deer Valley Unified School District employee was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly possessing pornographic images of juvenile girls.
Curtis Scott Matthews, 54, of Sun City is facing several felony charges after the Peoria Police Department linked him to an email account that had contained exploitative images of young girls, officials said.
The photos depicted girls estimated to be under the age of 15. Some of the images were watermarked with phrases like "preteen goddess" or "lolitas," according to a statement.
Matthews denied downloading the pictures to his email account and told investigators he wasn't sexually attracted to children, officials said.
"Curtis remained adamant that he did not save any images of children to his phone and did not understand how they got there," a police report states.
A forensic search of the suspect's phone showed Matthews had allegedly made internet searches for material involving "teens," officials said.
Matthews is a maintenance worker for Deer Valley Unified's schools and the district said he's been placed on leave as his criminal charges unfold.
"This employee worked in grounds and maintenance and did not work directly with students," the district wrote in a statement. "Police believe at this time that these alleged crimes did not involve any DVUSD students."
