Former teacher charged for possession of illicit images

A 54-year-old Oxnard man faces charges for possession of child sexual abuse material, stemming from a monthslong investigation with local and federal law enforcement agencies.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s office said Aaron Wayne Bouffard was arrested by Ventura Police Sept. 20 and pleaded not guilty at his Oct. 7 arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court. He also faces a special allegation of aggravated possession of over 600 illicit images, which he also denied, according to the DA's office and court records.

Prosecutors said the investigation began in April 2023 when Homeland Security Investigations in Ventura received information from an online platform about a person using cryptocurrency in exchange for the alleged illegal materials. That person, authorities said, was later identified as Bouffard.

Using a federal search warrant, Homeland Security agents said they were able to seize multiple devices and recover thousands of the images at Bouffard’s Oxnard home.

Bouffard was already on probation for a 2021 case of child endangerment. He remains in Ventura County jail without bail because of a violation of his probation. He was set to return to court on Wednesday.

Bouffard was employed as an English teacher with Oxnard Union High School District until 2022, said Joey Buttitta, a spokesman for the DA's office. Bouffard was placed on leave and ultimately his employment ended following the 2021 child endangerment case, Buttitta said.

Members of the Ventura County Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force also worked on the case.

Anyone with additional information about Bouffard is asked to contact Homeland Security Special Agent Tommy Brizuela Jr. at Tommy.D.Brizuela@hsi.dhs.gov .

Ernesto Centeno Araujo is a breaking news reporter. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com .

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Former teacher charged for possession of illicit images