AURORA | A man who was a spectator and occasional volunteer at Overland High School basketball games is facing child exploitation charges for allegedly soliciting nude photos of underage girls in exchange for money.
Darnell Ward, 44, was arrested March 9 in Phoenix, Ariz. on charges related to child exploitation and sexual assault, according to an Aurora Police Department news release.
He was extradited to Colorado and will be prosecuted in the 18th Judicial District, where he is facing two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, a class 4 felony and two counts of obscenity to a minor, a class 6 felony.
According to an arrest affidavit, a man went to the Aurora Police Department in August after finding phone messages between Ward and his teenage daughter. The affidavit said that Ward had given the girl money through the mobile payment service Cash App for things like a new car battery and the fees for AP tests in exchange for nude photos.
When interviewed by police, the teenager said that Ward had reached out to her unsolicitedly and gradually began asking her for photos, while offering to give her money for expenses. She said most of the photos she sent him were found off the internet, though some were of her, the affidavit said. She also said that one time she joined a video call with him and he was exposing himself.
The teenager said she knew of another teenage girl Ward was doing the same thing with, the affidavit said.
Police interviewed another victim who said that she had known Ward since she was in fifth or sixth grade, and he would sometimes give her money for birthdays or the holidays, the affidavit said. When she was in 11th grade he began asking her to FaceTime him and to send him naked photos, and in return he would give her money. She told investigators his requests made her uncomfortable.
“She deleted his contacts because he texted her constantly and it got ‘weird,’” the affidavit said.
Police also spoke to a third person who had a very similar series of interactions with Ward but was 18 at the time, the affidavit said. She told investigators that Ward came across as “weird” and “too nice,” and at one point claimed he was dying and had checked into a hospital.
According to sections of the affidavit that are heavily redacted, Ward is the parent of a high school student at a local school district.
“The investigation determined that Ward occasionally was a parent spectator at Overland High School girls’ basketball games and would help record scores for the game,” the APD release said. “However, he was not an official volunteer. It is believed Ward also has helped with sporting events in the Denver Metro area schools. Based on Ward’s history and past allegations, investigators believe there are additional victims who have been victimized by Ward and have not yet reported it.”
Ward was initially contacted by police in August. He admitted to contact with the first victim but said that he had not contacted any other underage girls, the affidavit said. He spoke with police again in February and said that he did not remember the other victims “but that he believed their statements to be true.”
“Ward advised that he was not in the ‘right frame of mind’ when he made the decisions that he did and he stated again that he was not a predator who sought to have sex with children,” the affidavit said.
Investigators filed a search warrant for several phones belonging to ward. One phone contained several of the nude photos described by the first victim, the affidavit said.
Investigators believe Ward was given some type of advance warning about the case because several days before police first contacted him he had made searches on his phone including “Colorado first time offense for child pornography” and “how long does someone have to register as a sex offender,” the affidavit said. Police also found searches for pornography including the term “young” and “high school.”
Ward is currently an inmate in the Arapahoe County Jail on a $50,000 bond, according to online records. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 15.
Additional victims who wish to report to the police can call police dispatch at 303-627-3100. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call Internet Crimes Against Children at 303-739-6711.