Sergio Armondo Celaya (El Mirage Police Department)
A 25-year-old man in Arizona has been arrested after he allegedly confessed to obtaining and keeping child pornography while interviewing for a job with the local police department. Sergio Armondo Celaya was taken into custody on Monday and charged with four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, authorities said.
According to a press release from the El Mirage Police Department, Celaya “admitted to possessing child pornography on his personal computer and other electronic devices” while being questioned.
Following his alleged admission, EMPD detectives say they developed probable cause to obtain and execute a warrant on Celaya’s residence. Upon searching his home, investigators say they found a plethora of evidence indicating that Celaya possessed child pornography.
El Mirage Police Chief Paul Marzocca praised the quick action taken by the detective who was interviewing Celaya.
“My detectives acted swiftly once learning of the statements by the suspect,” Chief Marzocca said in a statement. “There is no place in any community for possessing this type of material or engaging in this type of behavior.”
Celaya was then processed and booked into the Maricopa County Jail.
In court documents obtained by Phoenix CBS affiliate KPHO-TV, police provided additional details regarding what allegedly prompted Celaya’s sudden confession.
According to the report, Celaya on Monday was interviewing for a job as a police assistant with EMPD. As part of that interview, he was required to take a polygraph test. It was during that interview that he allegedly “admitted he still had sexual videos of his ex-girlfriend and him from when they were teenagers” engaging in sexual activities.
In addition to the old sex tapes, Celaya allegedly told police that he uses a website where “girls sent him videos of underage teen girls having sex,” the station reported, citing court documents.
Court documents reportedly say Celaya told investigators that he used the free online video chat website Omegle – which pairs users with random other people in one-on-one chats and does not require any registration – to send and receive “sexual videos and photos of kids from strangers.” Celaya told police that he saved those files – some of which depicted children as young as 11 – to a flash drive, according to KPHO.
Once he obtained the alleged depictions of child pornography, Celaya allegedly stored them using a virtual private network that encrypted his internet and user account.
During the search of Celaya’s home, police found a flash drive containing several thousand pornographic photos and videos, at least one of which depicted “kids as young as 12 to 13 years old, KPHO reported. Investigators reportedly said that they are still analyzing the drive for more illegal content.
Investigators also reportedly discovered four files containing child pornography on his personal laptop depicting children between the ages of 5 and 15 years old.
Celaya is currently scheduled to appear for a status conference on Feb. 13, and a preliminary hearing on Feb. 16, court records show.