Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy arrested for possession of child pornography

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy was arrested Thursday on three felony charges of possession of child pornography.

Deputy Donald Dehnert, 46, was taken into custody as a search warrant was executed at his home in Kingwood.

Dehnert appeared before a judge on Thursday afternoon. The deputy faces three charges of possessing child pornography. Prosecutors say Dehnert admitted to having child pornography on a flash drive. He said he deleted the images, but forensics investigators were able to retrieve them.

Two of the photos are of nude children under the age of two years old and the other one was a girl who appeared to be between six and eight years old. The image showed the girl appearing to perform a sexual act.

Investigators found the flash drive while searching Dehnert's home.

The third-degree felony charges were accepted by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Dehnert has been booked into the Harris County Jail and he has been relieved of duty, according to the sheriff's office.

"The warrant was based on an online undercover investigation where the defendant solicited sex with the undercover officer's 5- and 11-year-old daughters. The defendant was read his statutory warnings and agreed to speak with the officers. During the interview, he admitted to engaging in the chat," said the prosecutor.

Dehnert joined the Harris County Sheriff's Office in 1992.

The investigating agencies included the Grand Prairie Police Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Texas Rangers and the Harris County Sheriff's Office in partnership with the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.