Man arrested on sex charges

PORTALES — A Rogers man was arrested Friday on allegations he possessed child pornography and pressured two students who rode his school bus to send him explicit photos.

Jason Mapp, 40, was booked into the Roosevelt County Detention Center Friday on charges of sexual exploitation of children and child solicitation by electronic communication device.

Mapp was a bus driver for Dora Consolidated Schools.

Dan Lindsey, the attorney for Mapp, said his client is a longstanding community member and will fight the charges.

“We deny all allegations,” Lindsey told The News. “We think there are significant issues with the electronic data.”

According to the arrest warrant filed Thursday in Roosevelt County Magistrate Court:

• During an investigation last July into allegations of illegal sexual acts, two girls said they were receiving strange messages from anonymous Instagram and Snapchat accounts they believed were run by Mapp. During a consensual search of their phones, the investigating officer discovered a message telling one girl, “Hey, you are either going to (send nude photos) here or my main account or I’ll call and tell your nana everything and you know she will believe me because I’m your bus driver.”

• A search warrant executed on Mapp’s residence resulted in a phone that contained several images of the girls in question, and a desktop computer that contained several photos and videos of children appearing to be younger than 16 engaging in sexual activities.

• Mapp participated in a voluntary interview July 24, and said that various people may have vendettas against him, including a coworker and Instagram users he reported for violating policy.

When reached for comment by The News, Dora Superintendent Brandon Hays said, “Jason Mapp’s employment with Dora Consolidated Schools has been terminated. We take the safety of our students very seriously and will cooperate with any ongoing investigation into this matter.”