The Diocese of Little Rock issued the following statement Sept. 26 regarding the arrest of Hot Springs teacher.
On Thursday morning, Sept. 25, agents with the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit arrested Zachary T. Nehus, a teacher at St. John Catholic School in Hot Springs, at his residence. He was charged with 30 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a Class C felony. The diocese did not know in advance of Thursday afternoon that the Cyber Crimes Unit was investigating Mr. Nehus.
Upon learning of Mr. Nehus’ arrest, he was immediately placed on administrative leave, and steps were taken to prevent him from having any access to St. John Catholic School. The leave will remain in effect until there is a resolution to the charges against Mr. Nehus, as he is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
The diocese does not know the evidence that supports the charges against Mr. Nehus, and it is hoped that the only connection between him and the school is his employment as a teacher. Agents with the Cyber Crimes Unit inspected computers used by Mr. Nehus at the school and none were removed.
Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, anyone with information that might be helpful to the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit should contact Special Agent Chris Cone at (501) 682-1553.
This statement is the extent to which the diocese and the staff at St. John Catholic Church and School will comment at this time while this case is in the legal system.
The diocese is committed to ensuring that all children and young people in its care are in a safe, protected environment. There is a policy that is followed whenever anyone serving in the Church is accused of a sex-related crime involving minors. This policy can be found on the website for the Diocese of Little Rock, www.dolr.org, under “Creating a Safe Environment.”
