Two separate Bexar County Sheriff's Office applicants arrested for child porn on their phones

A man interested in becoming a Bexar County Sheriff's Office cadet was arrested last week after a recruiter found child pornography on the applicant's phone, according to county records.

It's the second time this summer a BCSO cadet applicant was busted for having kiddie porn on an electronic device, records also show.

Joseph Matthew Juarez, 22, was arrested last Friday and booked on charges of possessing child pornography, according to the Sheriff's Office. He's since been released after posting a $75,000 bond.

A BCSO recruiting corporal searched Juarez's phone as a routine part of the application process and uncovered explicit material involving underage girls, county records show. The recruiter reportedly secured the evidence and reported it to higher-ups.

After being detained, Juarez said he was aware of the material but added that he thought he'd deleted any illicit content from the device, according to details shared by BCSO.

The sheriff's department took the other would-be cadet — 34-year-old Cesar Jose Merced-Lozano — into custody June 3, records show.

In that case, an investigator learned that Merced-Lozano had child pornography on his phone during a scheduled appointment at the department's Applicant Processing Office, according to arrest details. BCSO personnel found "explicit videos involving minors" on the device, county records state.

According to records, Merced-Lozano told investigators he got the clips via links shared in a video-game chat. He also faces child pornography charges, according to BCSO officials, and he's since been released on $75,000 bond.

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