CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — The Camden County Sheriff’s Office has terminated a deputy for their suspected involvement in a child pornography case.

Sheriff Tony Helms said in a release CCSO received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an individual suspected of uploading child pornography in Camden County.

Further investigation by the sheriff’s office and the Lake Area Cyber Crimes Task Force revealed that the suspect in the case was a Camden County deputy. The statement did not identify the deputy.

Helms said the deputy was placed on administrative leave on August 1 while the investigation was completed.

“As soon as I had this information in late July, I requested a special investigation be conducted by the Digital Forensics Investigative Unit, a state agency working under the Missouri State Highway Patrol,” Helms wrote.

The deputy was ultimately terminated on August 22 for policy violations, according to Helms.

“At no time during the investigation has there been any indication or evidence of local citizens of Camden County being in danger,” said Helms, adding that he takes the behavior of his deputies seriously:

There is no greater trust than that placed by the public into the hands of their law enforcement officers. I want to personally assure the people of Camden County that I take my deputy’s behavior and responsibilities seriously. I hold each of my deputies to the highest degree of credibility and I expect them to hold themselves likewise. No one is above the law, regardless of their employment status in local, state, or federal governement. I will not tolerate criminal behavior in Camden County and certainly not within my own office, and I want you, the citizens of Camden County, to know my resolve.”

Camden County Sheriff Tony R. Helms

The release does not say whether the former deputy has been arrested in connection with the child pornography case.