The Osceola County School District reported Wednesday morning that an Osceola County School District IT employee was arrested on child pornography possession charges last week.
Jason Warren, 28, was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography.
An arrest warrant shows the Sheriff's Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Dropbox in January noting an IP address located in Osceola County was in possession of apparent child pornography, and investigators began the process of obtaining warrants. According to the Sheriff's Office, On Feb. 27 detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC) met with Warren. During that contact, Warren’s cell phone was confiscated. With assistance of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the phone was unlocked, and the contents of the phone were provided to the ICAC Unit for review.
At that time, Warren the District suspended Warren and his network access was locked, according to a School District security official.
Last Wednesday, a warrant was obtained for his arrest on the possession of child pornography counts. On Thursday, Warren was called into the District office, where Sheriff;s deputies made the arrest, reportedly in front of other district employees. Osceola County Jail records show he was released by Monday on a $5,000 bond, on a condition he have no access to the internet, per the charging affidavit.
According to a list of personnel actions the School Board is set to vote on or approve at its March 21 meeting, Warren is listed as "suspended without pay" as of this week, and the board will vote to terminate as of the 21st.
The Sheriff's Office reports the ICAC unit is still reviewing photos and videos on the phone to see if additional charges may be forthcoming.
As this week is spring break, many School District personnel members are on vacation. A district spokesperson was unavailable for comment.
