MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — Police have arrested a West Virginia correctional officer who works at the Gene Spadaro Juvenile Detention Center in connection with child sexual abuse allegations.
Stephen Basham, 37, of Scarbro is accused of filming a minor child on his phone. State officials said the minor was not in custody at the juvenile detention center where the officer worked.
Deputies with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office arrested Basham on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 31, 2016 after the Fayette County 911 Center received a tip about possible child pornography on the phone of the accused.
The phone allegedly contained still images and a video of a minor child in the act of undressing and showering.
“Keeping our children safe from sexual predators is one of the primary duties and responsibilities of the Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff Mike Fridley said in a press release. “Any reports filed with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office concerning the alleged physical or sexual abuse of children will be carefully and thoroughly investigated, and anyone who harms one of our kids will be held accountable for his or her actions.”
Deputies believe Basham recorded the video himself.
Basham faces one felony count of use of a minor child to produce obscene matter and two misdemeanor counts of possession of child erotica.
He is free on $25,000 bond.
The administrator of the Gene Spadaro Juvenile Detention Center has relieved Basham of his duties pending the outcome of this criminal case.
Investigators do not believe Basham had unsupervised contact with any of the juvenile detainees housed at the facility.