CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. – Parents are taking to social media to voice their concerns after a deputy with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office was let go for being accused of downloading child pornography.

“Once they told us that information, we immediately put (the deputy) on suspension pending further confirmation and within three weeks of the suspension, we had enough that we knew we had to get rid of this deputy,” said Sgt. Scott Hines.

Jessica Bockoven, a parent in Camden County, says she wishes the deputy was fired sooner.

“I would have liked to see a little bit quicker action taken because that’s a pretty big allegation, especially with our kids,” Bockoven said.

Sgt. Hines said investigations like this take time. When the investigation revealed a member of the Camden County Sheriff’s Office was the suspect in this case, they had to stop the investigation and let the Missouri State Highway Patrol take over.

“It’s not a traffic ticket,” Hines said. “It’s not something that we can just arrest you for and then you’re on your way. Everyone is afforded due process. And in this case, in order to not lose the case, they’ve got to go through the motions of making sure everything is tight before they actually submit for those charges.”

The sheriff’s office says while the deputy has not been arrested at this time, they still felt the need to dismiss him.

“The burden of proof in any criminal case is proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hines said. “We don’t need proof beyond a reasonable doubt to dismiss someone from their employment.”

People in Camden County tell OzarksFirst they feel extremely disappointed.

“As much as the public is outraged, imagine how we feel,” Hines said. “This deputy was a person that we’ve all trusted many times over, literally put our lives in their hands and he and ours. So this feels like a betrayal of that trust.”

“We want to make sure our kids are completely safe, that when you’re in a position of authority, that you are there for the kids no matter what, that you’re not going to be taking advantage of the kids or the parents,” Bockoven said.

The investigation started when the former deputy downloaded an image that’s called a “known image,” meaning the picture is known to national authorities and flagged immediately.

“There’s no indication that anyone was creating child pornography with any of the citizens of Camden County in this case,” Hines said.

The sheriff’s office says they will not release the name of the deputy until he is formally charged.

“We hold our people to a higher standard, but we expect them to behave by that standard,” Hines said. “And when they don’t, we hold them accountable.”