A juvenile justice officer from Fairbanks has been charged with distribution of child pornography, prosecutors said Thursday.
An Anchorage grand jury handed up three charges against 34-year-old Henry Barker on Wednesday.
Alaska State Troopers reported in an online dispatch posted Thursday that Technical Crimes Unit investigators identified Baker as a suspect when the team "was searching the internet for individuals involved in the distribution of child sexual abuse images" in August.
Barker is alleged to have sent an investigator three videos, according to a bail memorandum filed in the case.
Law enforcement served search warrants on Barker's home, vehicle and his person on Sept. 7, according to the memorandum. When officers told Barker he was being investigated for child porn crimes, "Barker immediately stated 'guilty,' " the memorandum says.
Troopers arrested Barker on Thursday. He was taken to Fairbanks Correction Center with his initial bail set at $25,000 and a third-party custodian, according to the dispatch.
Barker has worked as a juvenile justice officer at the Fairbanks Youth Facility, the state's second largest youth offender jail, assistant attorney general Adam Alexander said in a release.
The bail memorandum says Barker worked the night shift at the jail, and the investigation found he used a well-known file-sharing program to distribute child porn on his days off.
Prosecutors did not mention suspected child sex crimes beyond the three charges, but it does encourage anyone with information about Barker's activities to call 907-269-5611.
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services operates the Fairbanks Youth Facility. DHSS public information officer Sarana Schell said she could confirm a juvenile justice officer at the facility was indicted Wednesday and arrested Thursday, but she did not confirm that individual was Baker.
"The officer has not been at work since the Department of Juvenile Justice became aware of the investigation," Schell said.