PHOENIX — A Phoenix Police Department employee has been terminated following allegations of him allegedly possessing explicit materials depicting children.
The agency said Tuesday that 20-year-old Daniel Rojas was arrested last month by Scottsdale police after a months-long investigation.
Scottsdale police said they started investigating Rojas in June after the agency received a cyber tip from the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.
Rojas, who worked in Phoenix police's communications bureau, has subsequently been booked into jail for six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Due to the gravity of the allegations, Phoenix police has terminated Rojas' employment.
Phoenix police said they became aware of possible criminal acts involving Rojas back in April. The employee was interviewed and placed on administrative leave in May.
Phoenix police said they were contacted in July about Scottsdale's criminal investigation into the suspect. The Phoenix PD investigation into Rojas remains open and ongoing.
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
