The Butte County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Butte College campus police officer after detectives found evidence that he had distributed child porn multiple times between 2019 and 2023.

Allen Charles has been placed on leave by the college and had his police powers suspended, a statement released by Butte College said.

 In addition, Butte College added they are in full cooperation with law enforcement agencies to assist in the investigation and the safety of their students and faculty remains their top priority.

 The Butte County Sheriff’s Office said that they had received a cybertip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children in July. Following the tip, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation.

In the investigation detectives had found that Charles had “distributed multiple images and at least one video containing child pornography,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said.

Additional evidence for the crimes committed was found during a raid on his home on the morning of Wednesday. 

Charles was arrested on one felony count of the possession of child pornography and one count for the distribution of child pornography. He is currently being held at the Butte County Jail. 

The investigation is ongoing. 

However, they do ask that anyone with information or a tip are asked to contact Detective Mary Barker of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office at 530-538-7671.

The Orion will continue to update this story as more information becomes available. 

Seamus Bozeman can be reached at [email protected].

To read the article in Spanish, go here.