Phoenix teacher placed on leave, accused of sending obscene material to teen girl
Reno Ferris (MCSO)
PHOENIX - A man who works with a Phoenix area school district has been arrested for allegedly providing obscene materials to minors, according to court documents.
What we know:
Detectives have identified the suspect as 29-year-old Reno Ferris.
An investigation into Ferris began on Sept. 8, when Phoenix Police were called by the Department of Child Safety over what was initially described as "disclosures made of sexual abuse of a juvenile."
"DCS received information from a crisis hotline [that a] 14-year-old female victim was possibly being groomed by her 7th/8th grade [Physical Education] teacher from when she was attending Global Academy of Phoenix Middle School," read a portion of the court documents.
Detectives say the girl was interviewed on Sept. 14, where she said she had been in communication with the teacher, who she identified as Ferris, since mid-August on X, Instagram, Tumblr and Snapchat. At some point, Ferris allegedly sent the girl "photographs of his lap in which she described he was wearing bottoms."
Court documents contain graphic description of the conversation between the girl and Ferris, as well as other materials that Ferris allegedly sent to the girl. Detectives described one video in which two people were in a state of undress and engaged in acts of intimacy.
Dig deeper:
Ferris, according to police, was arrested near 35th Avenue and McDowell Road on the afternoon of Sept. 16. Investigators say during an interview, Ferris "stated he had been communicating via social media platforms with the 14-year-old female," going on to say "he admitted to having inappropriate conversations with the 14-year-old."
Detectives say while Ferris admitted to sending pornographic video to the girl, he denied sending nudes of himself to the girl or requesting such materials from her.
What they're saying:
The Global Academy of Phoenix Middle School is a part of the Alhambra Elementary School District. Officals with the district have released a statement on the matter, which reads:
The District takes all allegations regarding student safety very seriously and is committed to maintaining safe, welcoming, and supportive learning environments for all students.
The District placed the employee on administrative leave on Tuesday, September 15, after becoming aware of an investigation by law enforcement involving an employee. The District is not aware of any other details regarding this matter. Because this is a personnel matter, the District cannot provide additional information at this time.
The District is committed to fully cooperating with law enforcement throughout its investigation and will continue to keep families informed as additional information becomes available.
What's next:
In court documents, Ferris is accused of two counts of furnishing obscene material to minors. Both counts are felonies.
Meanwhile, a judge has set a $75,000 bond for Ferris, and should he make bail, he will be subjected to electronic monitoring. Ferris' preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 25.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from court documents related to the case, and from a statement released by the Alhambra Elementary School District in Phoenix.