By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Phoenix third-grade teacher remains in custody as new court records detail the FBI investigation that led to federal child sexual abuse material charges.
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Gabriel Chacon was in his third year teaching third grade at Encanto Elementary School when he was arrested on federal charges. He told the FBI the activity was a “fantasy,” according to court records.
District leaders met with parents Wednesday night at the school to discuss the allegations against Chacon, who is accused of distributing and possessing child pornography involving a minor under age 12.
“We learned absolutely nothing. We learned that the school is not prepared. They don’t have anything figured out. We were hoping to get just some answers on if our children were, their photos were linked or anything, because he was taking pictures of our children in the classroom,” said a mom of a student in Chacon’s class after the meeting with school and district leaders.
“I learned that Osborne School District is not prepared for something like this,” added the aunt of another student in Chacon’s class.
How he was caught
Jessica Nicely, a child abuse prevention specialist, reviewed the criminal complaint, which describes how Chacon was caught.
According to the court document, Chacon wrote in a group chat, “Hey friends, let’s say hypothetically you were a teacher and you had three hours to kill alone in your classroom after school, what would you do?”
Court documents show the group chat was “dedicated to the access and dissemination of child pornography with a focus on babies and infants” on a social media platform referred to in documents as “Service 1,” which offers end-to-end encryption.
Court records show Chacon’s message is time-stamped for when parent-teacher conferences were happening at Encanto at the beginning of October.
“The audacity, and there are so many bad guys — and I say guys because, you know, this stat: 96% of the time with children, it’s a man — but there’s so many guys who get off on the risk of it,” Nicely said.
An undercover Australian law enforcement officer said he saw Chacon’s message and began communicating with him one-on-one. After Chacon said, “hypothetically speaking,” that he was a teacher, he wrote, “It’s a great gig for brothers like us,” according to court documents.
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Court records also say they exchanged graphic texts and selfies. Documents say Chacon eventually sent the overseas undercover officer five videos showing child sexual abuse material, which were “federally chargeable,” according to the court document.
Investigation and arrest
Authorities said they traced the online profile to Chacon, matching it to his phone number and Instagram account, according to court records. FBI agents in Phoenix were notified of the investigation and began surveillance on Chacon, taking a photo of him outside his home on Oct. 7, according to court documents.
After his arrest, court records show Chacon told investigators he joined the group chat “a long time ago” and sent child pornography in there “about five to six times” from his phone, “knowing they were actual minors.”
Chacon denies ever being hands-on with any child or taking any videos or pictures of children, including any in his classroom, according to court records.
“Statistically, it’s about 80% of the time when there is online child sexual abuse activity going on, there’s physical contact as well. So I don’t believe for a second that this man only did these things online,” Nicely said.
Chacon has been on administrative leave since his arrest last week.
Parents at the school said they are concerned about what else the FBI may find on his devices.
“I’m feeling violated. My trust is out the window. I’m lost for words. I’m completely lost for words because I put trust in this man for my child. And he let my trust down. He let my child’s trust down. How is my daughter supposed to trust teachers after this,” said the parent Arizona’s Family talked to after Wednesday’s meeting at the school.
Chacon remains in custody and is due back in court Friday.
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