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Elementary school volunteer arrested in child porn investigation Elementary school volunteer arrested in child porn investigation
(about 4 hours later)
An elementary school volunteer has been arrested in a child pornography investigation, according to Prince George’s County police. An elementary school volunteer and youth choir director faces charges in Prince George’s County after allegedly making pornographic videos involving children, communicating with many of the victims through an anonymous messaging app popular among teens.
Authorities said they’ve arrested Deonte Carraway, 22, of Glenarden as part of a “wide-ranging child pornography investigation.” Police have not detailed the charges Carraway faces and his role in the investigation. Deonte Carraway, 22, is charged with 10 counts of felony child pornography and related sex charges in connection with 40 recordings involving at least 10 children ranging from 9 to 13 years old, charging documents state.
The victims range from 9- to 13- years of age and police have counted 10 victims so far, officials said at an afternoon press conference. Carraway can be seen or heard in some of the videos directing the children to perform certain acts for his cellphone camera, according to Prince George’s County police. And in at least one case, a student is recorded performing a sex act on Carraway in a school bathroom while he filmed it on his orange phone, according to charging documents.
Police said the filming occurred in at least three public places: Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School, Glenarden Municipal Center and the Theresa Banks Memorial Aquatic Center. “We believe that Carraway targeted his young victims and videotaped vile sexual acts during the school day, on school grounds,” Prince George’s County Police spokeswoman Julie Parker said.
The recording and sex abuse occurred during the school day at Judge Sylvania W. Woods Elementary School in Maryland, where Carraway worked as a paid assistant before becoming a volunteer teacher’s aide, police said. The recordings also occurred at Glenarden Municipal Center, the Theresa Banks Memorial Aquatic Center and in private homes, police said.
Many videos were shot in a room at the school, and detectives are investigating how Carraway was able to get the children alone during the school day, said Maj. Robert Brewer, head of the Prince George’s County Criminal Investigations Division.
“The application Kik is something that is commonly used with kids to communicate with each other. And it’s something parents need to be cautious of and review their kids’ usage of the application to see if he communicated with them,” Brewer said. “That’s how they were relaying the images and video back and forth.”
The investigation into Carraway started when the uncle of a student found a nude photo on the child’s cellphone sent through the Kik messaging app, police said. The uncle notified police, leading detectives to Carraway and the series of videos. Carraway admitted his involvement to detectives after his arrest, police said.
Carraway’s family could not be reached for immediate comment, and it is unclear whether he has an attorney yet.
A spokesman for Kik did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
School officials in Prince George’s County expressed shock about the allegations against Carraway and said they would cooperate fully with law enforcement in its investigation.
“The safety of our students is a top priority,” they said in a ­statement.
Carraway’s work in Prince George’s County schools dates back more than a year. School officials say he worked as a school secretary at Glenarden Woods Elementary School in November 2014, before moving to Judge Sylvania W. Woods Elementary, where he was a classroom assistant from November 2014 to September 2015. Since then, he has worked at Sylvania Woods on a volunteer basis.
Carraway was also the director for the Glenarden Voices of Youth Choir.
School officials did not have information Monday about the nature of his volunteer work at Sylvania Woods. He lost his paid position as a result of budget constraints, said schools spokeswoman Sherrie Johnson. His change of status at Sylvania Woods had nothing to do with the case, she said.
Every employee hired by Prince George’s goes through a screening process prior to hiring and a criminal background check, Johnson said. The school system will make crisis-team staff and school counselors available to students as part of their recovery process, she said.
Videos found on Carraway’s phone varied from 8-second clips to segments of a little more than a minute and featured boys and girls, according to charging ­documents.
The videos have been filmed since at least the start of 2015, police said. The investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed against Carraway if more victims emerge, police said.
“These are complex investigations, and it is hard to tell where it will lead, but that is the work before us now,” Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank ­Stawinski said.
Brewer said there may be more victims than the 10 detectives have counted so far.
“This investigation is just the beginning,” Brewer said. “He’s had contact with a lot of kids in the community, and we’re looking for community members to come forward.”
Police are asking parents who suspect their child is a victim to call 301-772-4930.
Carraway was arrested Friday and is being held on a $1 million bond.Carraway was arrested Friday and is being held on a $1 million bond.