New Details in Hurst Child Porn Case Affidavits

Possible victims urged to call HSI tipline at 1-800-347-2423

Search warrant affidavits outline disturbing details after police in Hurst said they arrested two men on charges of possession of child pornography. The affidavits outline how school officials were eluded.

Randy Ray Wesson, 28, and Ricardo Javid Lugo, 17, were taken into police custody earlier this week following a tip from The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Hurst police say Wesson confessed to abusing 100 children as young as 7-years-old.

Search warrant affidavits outline disturbing details after police in Hurst said they arrested two men on charges of possession of child pornography, including how they eluded school officials.

The investigation into Wesson began in June after The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported a child pornography image, but the case was put on hold.

"And then as it turns out, the detective actually got injured and he was out for ten weeks so he just came back and picked this up," said Hurst Police Sgt. Craig Teague.

The federal criminal complaint shows Wesson admitted downloading and viewing more than 42,000 images of child pornography as well as uploading child porn through various social media platforms.

Police say Lugo and Wesson were predators looking for sexual encounters with children and photos.

Community reacts after two men arrested in alleged child pornography scheme that involved one suspect enrolling at an elementary school as a sixth grader.

Masquerading As a Sixth Grader

The search warrants filed with the Tarrant County District Attorney's office details how 17-year-old Lugo came to masquerade as a 12-year-old student at Hurst Hills Elementary School in Hurst.

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The school accepted what ended up being a counterfeit birth certificate for the 17-year-old. Parents say their kids were suspicious of the 5-foot, 10-inch tall alleged sixth grader.

"She just thought it was kind of funny, because she said he didn't look like an average 12-year-old and his grades was very high. versus a younger kid," said Jerry Johnson, a student's father.

"You don't just enroll in school, you've got to have previous records and shot records, the whole nine yards," said grandparent Tommy Sparks.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Lugo was enrolled in school as Matthew Drew Wesson. The school told police he had a birth certificate, vaccination records and, when asked about prior school records, Randy Wesson told school officials "Matthew" came from Mexico. The principal told the detective the school only attempts to get prior records if the student attended school in the United States according to the affidavit.

The school district released a statement Friday saying it is cooperating with authorities and a letter was sent home to parents Thursday night.

The search warrant also shows Wesson told his own parents a DNA test proved Lugo was his 12-year-old child by a woman in El Paso.

The Search for Possible Victims

Police are trying to identify the children in the seized photos and they are asking parents to talk with their kids to help learn if they had improper contact with either Wesson or Lugo.

"The volumes of images make the case very difficult. As you all are aware, you can have an picture of someone, it doesn't mean you have an identity of someone," said Teague.

The Department of Justice said Friday  a Homeland Security Investigations toll-free tip line has been set up, anyone who may have been victimized related to this case should call 1-800-347-2423.

Previous Investigation

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Wesson was investigated two years ago for improper contact with a child, but never charged.

Police said in Feb. 2012, Wesson was working at Sea Life Aquarium in Grapevine when he picked up a 4-year-old boy, approached the boy's mother and asked if he could babysit. The case was investigated but no charges were ever filed.

"When I was told about it, it sent chills up my spine," said Maria Panagopolous, the mother who made the complaint over Wesson's behavior two years ago, about learning of his arrest this week.

"He said, 'I don't normally do this, but here's my card and if you ever want someone to babysit your son that I'd be willing to baby sit him,'" Panagopolous said, recalled her encounter with Wesson in 2012. "And, of course, I just felt that weird feeling that a stranger would be approaching me and asking me to entrust my son to them."

"I just told him no thanks. I said if I need a babysitter I'll find somebody. I don't normally have strangers asking me to watch my son," Panagopolous said.

After filing her report with Sea Life staff, a manager confronted Wesson, who then resigned his position "effective immediately," according to personnel records obtained by NBC 5.

Following Wesson's resignation, a Sea Life supervisor filed an official report with Grapevine police.

"It took two years, but they finally got something on him," Panagopolous said.

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NBC 5's Ben Russell contributed to this report.

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