A Vancouver Public Schools employee who works through the counseling center at Thomas Jefferson Middle School made a first appearance Friday on allegations of possessing child pornography.
Alex J. Wright, 30, appeared in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of nine counts of first-degree possessing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and nine counts of attempted first-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Randy St. Clair said law enforcement officers found “horrific” video files on Wright’s home computer that depicted children younger than 12 years old.
Wright was arrested Thursday following an investigation by the Vancouver Police Department’s Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit. Investigators identified an Internet Protocol address associated with child pornography files and traced it back to Wright, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
On Friday, Judge Gregory Gonzales said Wright does not qualify for a court-appointed attorney and must hire his own. He set Wright’s bail at $50,000.
Wright will be arraigned Feb. 12.
Wright has worked for Vancouver Public Schools since 2010, according to Pat Nuzzo, the district’s communications director. He was first hired as a basketball coach at the middle school and as a substitute district resource officer. He was hired as a district resource officer in 2012 and has worked at Skyview High School, Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Nuzzo said. Wright was hired as a student success advocate in September 2015 at the middle school, she said, and works with students in conjunction with the counselors at the school.
“We haven’t had any concerns raised about his conduct at work,” Nuzzo said. “Our IT staff did check his district-issued computers, and there were no inappropriate images on those computers.”
She said Wright was arrested Thursday at the school and is on leave from the district pending the outcome of the case.
“We are cooperating fully with local and federal law enforcement authorities,” Nuzzo added.
