AR Catholic Official Arrested On Child Porn Charges

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports:

Paul Scouten, 39, of East Cortland Street in Fayetteville, was arrested by Arkansas State Police at his home Thursday in connection with distributing, possessing or viewing material depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, according to Washington County Detention Center records.

Scouten remained at the Washington County jail Monday in lieu of $25,000 bond. He is set for arraignment on May 7 in Washington County Circuit Court.

Scouten had been office manager at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tontitown since August 2016, according to a statement sent to parishioners from the Diocese of Little Rock last week.

Little Rock’s CBS affiliate reports:

The diocese, which oversees dozens of parishes across Arkansas, shared in a letter on April 10 that Paul Scouten, the office manager at St. Joseph, was arrested.

The letter said Scouten had been employed in the role since August 2016, adding that he’s currently on administrative leave and barred from the church’s grounds until a decision is made about his employment.

The diocese said that while CSAM was allegedly found on his work computer, there is “nothing to indicate any of the children or youth at your parish or any of the students at Ozark Catholic Academy have been involved.”

There’s more at both links above.

Paul Scouten, the office manager at St. Joseph since 2016, was arrested on April 10. He’s accused of having CSAM on his phone and work computer, the diocese said. https://t.co/U492WqL0CY

— 5NEWS (@5NEWS) April 12, 2025