LAVEEN, AZ — An after-school counselor in Laveen has been arrested, accused of showing pornographic images to children.
According to court paperwork, 29-year-old Arthur Douglas allegedly showed a 9-year-old and 11-year-old nude photos of men and women, along with pictures of himself posing with guns.
Douglas was working at the time as an after-school counselor at Paseo Pointe Elementary School.
Douglas was allegedly seen on video, at a picnic table with several kids, showing them his phone. The video does not show what is on the phone’s screen, but the children told police it was private parts of naked people.
Dr. DJ Gaughn, a psychologist, says Douglas behavior resembles what's known as grooming--the term used to describe acts which a predator will use to get in a position of power over children.
“The better you are at grooming and getting people to trust you, the more likely you are to be successful and also the more likely you are that people won’t report because they have a relationship with you often times. They’re confused and they’re upset and their embarrassed and they don’t wanna tell their parents,” Dr. Gaughn said.
When questioned, Douglas said he receives nude photos from women, but he believes they were all deleted when the children were looking at his phone.
Detectives say they were able to recover deleted photos of naked women from his phone.
Douglas faces four counts of furnishing harmful materials to minors for recklessly presenting to them, items harmful to minors, a class 4 felony.
Dr. Gaughn says it's important for parents to reinforce with their children that it's ok to speak up if they experience an uncomfortable situation.
“If it feels wrong, it’s wrong,” he said. “If something is not feeling right in your relationship with an adult, then it’s time to let somebody you trust and care about know about that.”
