Two individuals with ties to Bridgeport High School were arrested as the result of a sweep by law enforcement involving sexual exploitation of children.

 

According to Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker, 48-year-old Paul Jones – a Bridgeport resident – was charged with a single count of felony manufacturing child pornography. Also, he said 36-year-old Jeremy Smith of Clarksburg was charged with felony distribution and exhibition of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

 

Walker said that Jones is a custodian at BHS. Smith, Walker confirmed, helped with the choreography of the BHS cheerleading squad.

 

“At this time, we’ve not been able to connect them to doing anything to any students at the school,” said Walker.

 

Jones allegedly took photos of a female relative who was a juvenile and stored them on his computer. Walker said “at least 600” photos were found on the computer.

 

The case was handled by Bridgeport Police Department Detective Lt. Gary Weaver. Weaver, said Walker, is deputized by the West Virginia State Police ICAC (Internet Crimes against Children) Task Force and also works for the FBI on a similar task force. He’s been involved in dozens of cases involving sexual related crimes against children.

 

“Gary and those agencies were involved in a crackdown over a multi-state area to bring these arrests,” said Walker.