SAN DIEGO — A former San Diego County sheriff's deputy pleaded not guilty today to felony charges of child pornography and assault weapon possession.
Jose A. Soto Jr., 51, who worked as a sheriff's deputy for nearly 25 years, was arrested by San Diego police last week after a search warrant was served at his Chula Vista home.
He remains out of custody on $25,000 bail following Tuesday's arraignment but was ordered to surrender his passport due to what a prosecutor described as "recent international travel." He was also ordered to surrender any firearms he owned.
Deputy District Attorney Carder Chan said "a report" led to the service of the search warrant, but the nature of that report was not disclosed.
Chan said that during the search, investigators found "at least one Matter depicting what we believe is child pornography, minors engaging in sexual conduct."
The assault weapon charge is associated with one specific firearm found by investigators, according to the prosecutor, who said neither is related to Soto's former employment.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Soto was fired from his part-time law enforcement job on the same day of his arrest.
Sheriff Kelly Martinez was "deeply disappointed and frustrated" by the allegations against Soto, whose most recent assignment was at the South Bay Courthouse, the county agency asserted in a prepared statement.
"We would also like to point out we understand the vast majority of deputies come to work every day and promote the mission of the Sheriff's Department and ensure the safety of the public," the statement added. "It is very unfortunate the hard work of so many is overshadowed by an incident such as this."
According to sheriff's officials, Soto began working for the department as a detentions and court services deputy in March 1998. He retired in January of last year, then was re-hired by the agency part-time in September.
Soto is scheduled to be in court for a readiness hearing on June 15 and a preliminary hearing on July 24.
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