A private school teaching assistant filmed child pornography involving two young students aged between six and 10, a court heard.
Augustus ‘Gus’ Shenker, 21, was initially arrested on Tuesday on federal counts of transportation and possession of child pornography, and was released on bond.
But two days later, he ended up in jail again after FBI agents uncovered additional evidence on the suspect’s iPhone that prompted prosecutors to file a second complaint against Shenker, charging him with production of child pornography. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
He is said to have recorded the clips on the same street where his workplace – Miss Selma’s School in Little Rock – is based, although it remains unclear if the footage was recorded in the actual school. The school charges its 200 students between $4,000 and $5,500 a year to attend.
According to the documents obtained by KATV, when investigators reviewed the contents of Shenker’s phone, they discovered a pair of pornographic videos that depicted two prepubescent girls with an adult man. The videos were recorded between April 22-23 on the same street where the school is located.
Augustus Shenker, 21, an Arkansas teaching assistant, has been charged with production of child pornography, and transportation and possession of child pornography
Shenker had worked as a teacher’s aide at Miss Selma’s School in Little Rock since 2017 while studying elementary education at the University of Central Arkansas
Data shared by investigators showed the clips were recorded at an address in T Street in Little Rock – five numbers away from 7814 T Street, where Shenker worked.
Shenker’s current address is listed as being 1.9 miles away from the school, and the address where the clips are said to have been recorded. FBI spokesman Connor Hagan could not confirm the images were shot at the school, but highlighted their appeal for other parents who fear their children may have been abused to come forward.
Hagan added that the Bureau has been inundated with concerned parents, and has even drafted in extra agents to try and interview them as quickly as possible.
Shenker, who had worked as a teacher’s aide at Miss Selma’s School since 2017, was arraigned on Thursday. A judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation before Shenker’s bond could be set.
According to a criminal complaint cited by ArkansasOnline.com, the case began unfolding after tech companies Google, Adobe and Dropbox contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to report the sharing of sexually explicit images and videos depicting girls between ages six to 10. Some of the images had penises photoshopped onto them
The pornographic material was allegedly linked to online accounts belonging to Shenker, and he was arrested by the FBI.
During his initial interview, the 21-year-old teacher’s aide told investigators he ‘used to have a problem with child pornography in 2014-2016’ but insisted that it was all in the past. He claimed that his Dropbox account had been hacked.
Shenker denied ever having inappropriate contacts with students and told agents that he loved working at the school, which teaches pre-schoolers and elementary-aged students.
A search of Shenker’s home turned up a laptop, an iPad, three USB storage devices, along with a box of letters from students, a Polaroid picture of a young girl in a T-shirt, bedtime stories and a notebook describing a fifth-grade fashion show. Agents also confiscated his iPhone.
Shenker is accused of filming pornographic videos with two young girls at the Little Rock school in late April. The videos were found on his phone during an FBI investigation
On Thursday, Miss Selma’s School released a statement, revealing that Shenker was fired immediately after his first arrest. The statement did not name him.
‘All employees, including this individual, have completed and passed a criminal background check as required by the Department of Human Services prior to employment,’ the statement read. ‘There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our students, employees and staff and we will continue to take precautions to ensure such.’
According to information on his Facebook account, Shenker graduated from the Catholic High School for Boys and was studying elementary education at the University of Central Arkansas while working as a teacher’s assistant at Miss Selma’s School – a small private institution that has about 200 students in pre-school through sixth grade.
One of the images on his Facebook page shows a beaming Shenker posing in a ‘Miss Selma’s School’ T-shirt in front of a large group of students.
‘I love them!’ he wrote in the comments section.
The FBI is now to looking identify potential victims in this case. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the agency at 501-221-9100.