Aurora sergeant arrested by FBI on child exploitation charges

A sergeant with the Aurora Police Department who supervised the city’s school resource officers was arrested Oct. 8 by the FBI on federal charges alleging the online sending and receiving of child sexual abuse material, police officials said Wednesday. Aaron Bunch was taken into custody by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force and has been placed on unpaid administrative leave while both the federal investigation and a departmental internal review proceed.

Aurora police said the charges relate to possession and distribution of child exploitation material online. Department officials added that, to date, investigators have not identified any victims who live in Aurora or attend schools in the Cherry Creek School District or Aurora Public Schools. The department announced it had opened an internal probe to review potential violations of conduct and policy by Bunch, who had been assigned as a supervisor of school resource officers and joined the department in 2005.

In a statement, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain described the allegations as deeply troubling and said the conduct undermines public trust. “This person has brought shame and disgrace to the badge and to an...