Sat, Nov 07, 2009
Tom Rogers, 2008 file photo

Tucson school official arrested for child sex exploitation

By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.22.2009
The superintendent of the Tanque Verde Unified School District has been arrested on federal charges related to the sexual exploitation of children.
On Friday in Yuma, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 51-year-old Albert Thomas Rogers, known as “Tom Rogers,” a press release from the federal agency says. Rogers had arrived in Yuma for a tour that was set to include sexual exploitation of 13- to 14-year-old boys in Mexico, the release says.
Rogers, who also serves as associate principal at Emily Gray Junior High School in Tucson, had contacted an undercover federal agent about the tour in January and submitted a reservation in February, including a $50 deposit. He expressed interest in spending “relaxation intimacy,” to include oral and anal sex, with the Mexican boys, the release said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working with the Tucson Police to determine if Rogers’ suspected criminal activity extended to the school district, the release said.
Since starting its undercover sex tourism operation in Yuma in 1997, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested 43 suspects, including Rogers.
The investigation is part of Operation Predator, an ongoing agency initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.