Louisiana officer charged with child porn, animal sex abuse

ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — A correctional officer in Louisiana has been arrested on 50 counts of possessing child porn and two counts of sexually abusing animals.

News outlets report Rapides Parish Sheriff's correctional Officer Johnny Ulrich Schalk was fired last week.

Sheriff William Earl Hilton says the charges stem from videos and pictures the 52-year-old man viewed online.

A Louisiana Attorney General's Office statement says the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified it about the possible abuse.

Hilton says he learned Tuesday that attorney general's office investigators were about to search Schalk's Pineville home and had obtained arrest warrants. He says Schalk was fired that same night. Schalk had worked for the department for 13 years.

Schalk has since posted bail and been released. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.