EL MIRAGE, Ariz. – A man in Arizona admitted to possessing child pornography during the interview process for a position with the El Mirage Police Department, court documents revealed on Monday, Action 5 News reported.
The alleged offender was identified as 25-year-old Sergio Celaya. He was taking a polygraph test as part of the hiring process to become a police assistant when he acknowledged that he possessed child porn.
During the polygraph interview, Celaya initially admitted to maintaining possession of videos of himself and an ex-girlfriend from their teenage years. Eventually, he confessed to visiting a website where he could receive videos of underage girls participating in sex, according to the Post Millennial.
After police received the incriminating information, detectives jumped into action and searched Celaya’s residence. They located four files containing child pornography on flash drives and a laptop containing children between 5 and 15 years old. Celaya was subsequently taken into custody.
El Mirage Police Chief Paul Marzocca said, “My detectives acted swiftly once learning of the statements by the suspect. There is no place in any community for possessing this type of material or engaging in this type of behavior,” the New York Post reported.
Celaya admitted that he knew that possessing child pornography was illegal and that he really wanted to delete the material and throw away the flash drives, but chose to keep them instead.
“Investigators say Celaya went on a free online chat website called Omegle and would send and receive sexual videos and photos of kids from strangers,” according to Arizona’s Family.
One video he received featured children approximately 12-13 years old. He admitted to saving files featuring children and said he did not send them out but only kept them for himself.
Celaya was arrested and charged with four counts of exploitation of a minor.
