Audio By Carbonatix
Christian Turcios, a 26-year-old former custodian at the Highlands Church in Scottsdale, was in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning where he pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of kiddie-porn-related crimes.
Turcios, it turns out, basically beat the rap on a child molestation case in 2010 — then he
allegedly got into the kiddie-porn biz, starring in his own movies.
Phoenix police were first called about Turcios in July of 2010, when
it was alleged that he molested an 11-year-old boy at a church summer
camp at Phoenix First Assembly, where he was volunteering.
Turcios refused to cooperate with police, and skipped an interview he’d scheduled with detectives.
According
to Phoenix police, at the time, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to
make an arrest — although, Turcios’ still listed as a suspect.
So
Turcios was a free man — free to continue volunteering at churches
full of children. Recently, he was hired to work as a janitor at
Highland Church, where he’d also babysat many of the church’s members’
kids.
In October, Phoenix police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigations started a “proactive investigation” into the exchange of
kiddie-porn over the Internet. The authorities’ investigation led them
to Turcios.
In December, authorities got a warrant to search Turcios’ home —
which is where they found a pretty extensive collection of (gulp) “child
erotica.”
Police found several images of children having sex.
They also found videos of Turcios having sex with boys between the ages
of 13-16.
Additionally, cops found a video of a 7-year-old boy
undressing. The boy, it turns out, was one of the many children Turcios
babysat through the Highland Church.
According to the Phoenix
PD, Turcios “placed himself in positions where he could be around
children during church camps and other activities. We are aware of at
least three other victims (based on evidence collected at his home)
however we have been unable to identify them at this time.”
Turcios has been charged with 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor,
26 counts of child molestation, and 13 counts of unlawfully recording.
He’s being held without bond.
Police fear there could be additional victims. Anyone with information about Turcio is asked to call Phoenix police.
