SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A south-central Missouri paraeducator has been charged with one count of producing child pornography, federal prosecutors said.
Cody Ashton Ary, 29, of West Plains, was charged Wednesday after prosecutors say he solicited children to send him sexually explicit photos and videos through social media apps, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Missouri.
Federal investigators said Ary uploaded a sexually explicit video of an 8- to 10-year-old boy to an Instagram account he owned in which he posed as a 15-year-old boy.
Prosecutors said Ary is a paraprofessional educator with the West Plains R-7 School District who helps with special need students.
A district spokeswoman, Lana Snodgras, said Thursday that district officials had only learned of Ary's arrest on Wednesday and said he has been placed on administrative leave. Snodgras says none of the allegations against Ary involve district students.