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Florida assistant prep football coach arrested on multiple child porn charges

Florida assistant prep football coach arrested on multiple child porn charges

Lake Gibson (Lakeland, Fla.) High assistant football coach James Arnett recently told the school's resource deputy he lost a USB drive that contained confidential defensive plays.

Only, when a student discovered the thumb drive, what he found can only be described as offensive. The drive included hundreds of "provocative" photographs of female students and at least two child pornography images, according to The Tampa Tribune.

"I have a 12-year-old sister," the student told the paper, "and I'm really PO'd."

Polk County deputies arrested Arnett on Wednesday on two felony child porn charges as well as "using the Internet to obtain pornography," The Tribune reported. The 41-year-old in-school suspension teacher previously coached Clay County (Manchester, Ky.) High, where he was a two-time All-State lineman, according to WYMT TV in Kentucky.

While Arnett -- a self-described porn addict since age 9 -- admitted to acquiring many of the images on student Facebook pages while denying any knowledge of the few photos considered pornography, local deputies painted a much different scenario.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told The Tribune the thumb drive contained a pair of images portraying girls aged 10-16 performing sex acts in addition to hundreds more photos taken in classrooms and on the track of female Gibson High students "focused on the girls' breasts, buttocks or genital areas."

Police seized Arnett's computers at both work and home, where he leaves a wife and four children aged 5-16, the report said. Authorities urge potential victims to come forward.

“We need to hear from the students,” Judd told The Tribune. “We need to hear from those who may have been a victim.”

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