A custodian with the Hot Springs School District charged last week with 100 felony counts involving child pornography pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday in Garland County District Court.
Paul Benjamin Merritt Jr., 30, was initially held on zero bond, but Judge Ralph Ohm set his bond Tuesday at $250,000 after a hearing via video from the Garland County Detention Center. The public defender appointed to represent him filed a motion for a gag order to limit pretrial publicity, which was granted.
Ohm also issued a court order barring Merritt from any contact with minors unless they are accompanied by their parents and banning him from possessing any device with access to the internet. A felony review hearing is set for Oct. 9 to determine if the case should be transferred to Garland County Circuit Court.
Merritt, who lives in the apartment complex at 948 Whittington Ave., was taken into custody around 6 a.m. Sept. 1 after FBI agents and Hot Springs police executed a search warrant on his residence. He was charged with 100 counts of distributing, possessing and viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Hot Springs School Superintendent Stephanie Nehus issued a statement following Merritt's arrest, stating, "I'm sure you understand that I cannot comment directly on a personnel matter. My understanding from the district's resource officer is that Mr. Merritt is presently in jail.
"When he gets out of jail, he will be on administrative leave, pending a complete investigation and the application of his statutory rights. Nothing is more important than the safety of the students in this district. Mr. Merritt was a night custodian, and we have no reason to believe that he ever had any contact with our students."
According to the affidavit, FBI Agent Nizam Alexander told police the FBI had located electronic devices inside the apartment containing sexually explicit images involving children and they were allegedly able to confirm Merritt possessed and distributed the images using his Facebook account.
When questioned, Merritt allegedly admitted to receiving, possessing and distributing the images and reportedly told police he sought out, received and shared numerous images of juveniles on Facebook. He also allegedly admitted to being sexually attracted to females as young as 10 years.
Local on 09/08/2017