$1.5M bail set for Arbor View athletic director facing child porn charges

Arbor View High School’s athletic director had his bail set Tuesday at $1.5 million in his child pornography case and now faces additional charges, including first-degree kidnapping.

According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Roger Brown had taken in a 16-year-old possible runaway from Utah. Prosecutors allege that he plied the boy with alcohol and drugs to seduce him into performing sex acts.

The complaint charges Brown with multiple counts of sex acts involving a pupil age 16 to 17 and use of a minor age 14 or older as the subject of sexual portrayal. It also alleges two new victims, in addition to the boy who reported that Brown had asked him for photos.

On Feb. 6, a 17-year-old student told Clark County School District police that Brown had tried to enlist him in a venture that involved the student sending him pictures, according to Brown’s arrest report. The student told police he recorded his conversation with Brown, who wanted photos of the student wearing underwear.

Brown said girls would pay as much as $25 to look at the photos, according to the report, which said Brown told the student he could get paid with money or marijuana.

Deputy District Attorney Alexander Chen said forensic experts had been going through Brown’s electronic devices, and prosecutors expect to bring new charges based on images they had found.

Gabriel Grasso, one of Brown’s attorneys, argued that bail should be set at $50,000. Chen argued that it should be set at a minimum of $1 million.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman settled the matter by bringing up the new kidnapping charge: “If he’s convicted of that, he’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison.”

Later Tuesday, school district spokeswoman Michelle Booth said Brown had been recommended for dismissal.

Contact Brooke Wanser at bwanser@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Bwanser_LVRJ on Twitter.