UPDATE: This article has been updated since publication to include additional comments from Texas A&M.
Clinton Harnden was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at his College Station home after investigators found he possessed child pornography.
Harnden is a senior administrative coordinator at Texas A&M University in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
The FBI became aware of Harnden’s instant messaging conversations regarding child pornography following the arrest of Sarah Chadwick in Michigan. WhatsApp messages between Chadwick and Harnden contained images of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).
According to court documents, both used the words “pizza” or “cheese pizza” as code words for CSAM.
Harnden was also involved in online groups dedicated to sharing CSAM through Tumblr and Wickr, according to The Gateway Pundit.
Court documents also revealed indications of Harnden’s aggressive and inappropriate sexual acts towards his daughter, which he allegedly shared with a woman on the social media app Snapchat.
Harnden’s lawyer said arrangements were made with Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station that would allow Harnden to continue working from home.
It is unclear if Harnden has resumed remote work.
Kelly Brown, a spokesperson for A&M said, “Texas A&M can’t comment on a pending criminal case, but I can tell you that none of the allegations involved his place of employment in any way.”
“By law, we can’t fire an employee based solely on an arrest,” Brown told Texas Scorecard on Dec. 1. “We have just completed our own investigation and will take appropriate action while the accused remains under house arrest in Houston. Since his arrest, he has not returned to work in College Station.”
Texas A&M is overseen by a Board of Regents, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, and confirmed by the Texas Senate.
