A photographer from Brighton was due back in court in America today (Friday 7 November) on charges of sexually exploiting children.
Aaron Gary St Clair, 45, appeared at Wake County Court, in Raleigh, North Carolina, by video phone on Monday and was made the subject of a bond $200,000 – or just over £150,000.
Aaron St Clair went to Varndean School and the Brighton Metropolitan College (Brighton Met) before becoming a local news photographer in 1998.
After five years at the Argus newspaper, in Brighton, he moved to Splash News in America in 2003 and more recently worked for the Shutterstock picture agency.
The married father of two was arrested on Saturday (1 November) and charged with “two counts of felony first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor”, according to the North Carolina television station WRAL.
The station’s website said that the charges stemmed from incidents on Saturday 6 September when, police said, he encouraged an 11-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity, according to arrest warrants.
The court was told that St Clair, of Spiedie Court, Raleigh, was already facing more than 15 charges involving children in Durham and Wake counties.
And in February, police from Apex, a nearby town in North Carolina, interviewed St Clair after he was alleged to have followed children into toilets at a sports venue, according to a search warrant.
These charges are due to be addressed at St Clair’s court appearance today.
The WRAL TV station’s website said: “St Clair was arrested on (Thursday 9 October) in Wake County and charged with 10 counts of felony second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for possession of sexually explicit material featuring children as young as five years old.
“He faces another five charges of felony second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for duplicating explicit material involving children as young as 11. Both charges stem from incidents in September.”
