Arizona prison officer charged in possession of child porn
An Arizona corrections officer is facing multiple felonies after investigators say they found numerous files of child pornography in his possession.
According to court documents, the FBI began looking into 25-year-old Miguel Angel Dominguez in November when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped them off regarding activity on the messenger app Kik. As a result, investigators recovered 47 images categorized as child pornography.
Investigators were able to find Dominguez’s Kik account through his username, email and cellphone, court documents show, and through the Kik data, investigators located video files of children as young as 5 being sexually abused.
Court documents state that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has reason to believe Dominguez gained access to the child sexual abuse material in July 2022. The Sheriff’s Office contacted Dominguez at his work location, the Lewis Arizona State Prison in Buckeye. Investigators say that he admitted to accessing Kik around June or July.
Court documents say he was able to recall the approximate date because he was on Military Army Guard training for about a month and a half in California.
According to the court records, Dominguez said he used the app to send and receive child porn. Court documents state that he “recalled receiving child sexual abuse material from other like-minded people in a group chat and then sharing it for others to view.” Dominguez told officers that he had to send images to not get kicked out of the chat, records show.
According to court documents, when questioned about the images, he explained that he was “curious.”
Court documents say Dominguez also admitted that the Sheriff’s Office may find more images on a thumb drive in his car and gave away his phone and laptop password during the interview. This item was obtained by officers and was going through forensic examination.
Court documents state that Dominguez commented on how he “screwed up his whole life with his choice to engage in child sexual abuse material.” According to court records, he continued to say that as a corrections officer, he mistreated people who were in prison, and he noted the irony of his situation.
According to court documents, MCSO so far found about 104 child sexual abuse material files chargeable under Arizona law.
Dominguez was arrested and booked for 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ prison officer Miguel Angel Dominguez charged in child porn case
