An ASU security guard was arrested Tuesday when Scottsdale police found hundreds of pornographic images of minors at his residence, according to police documents.
Jason Ripper, 53, who worked at ASU's Art Museum in Tempe, was booked on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to Scottsdale police documents.
Investigation into Ripper's online activities began in October when Yahoo reported an account suspected of uploading child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The account's IP address was connected to Ripper, according to police.
Another online tip revealed a different, alternate email address and police later discovered the account belonged to Ripper's girlfriend, documents said.
When police interviewed Ripper Tuesday, he admitted to downloading images of child exploitation and emailing them to himself, according to the documents.
The hundreds of photos were found in a USB thumb drive labeled "New CP," short for child porn.
Ripper originally stated he had a "fascination" with the photos and not sexual arousal, but later he said he was "possibly aroused by the images," the documents said.
During the same interview Tuesday, Ripper said he wanted to turn the photos, some of toddlers, into art to "raise awareness to the issues of sexual exploitation," according to police documents.
The photos "depict the sexual exploitation of children and serve no legitimate purpose other than for the sexual gratification of the viewer," according to the documents.
The investigation is ongoing, but if Ripper were to be released, police say they will request "electronic monitoring and no access to children or the internet," documents said.
A University spokesperson declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation by the Scottsdale Police Department.
Reach the reporter at kkwilso5@asu.edu and follow @kaceywilson_ on Twitter.
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