A former SoCal university police officer admits to having 600 child sex files

A former University of San Diego police sergeant and father of three has pleaded guilty to possessing more than 600 child pornography files, along with other videos showing adults having sex with girls believed to be between the ages of 6 and 8, authorities said.

Homeland Security Investigations discovered digital encryption during a raid on Paul Aurelio McClain’s Riverside County home in March 2025, according to the US Department of Justice.

The titles of the pornographic video files found on McClain’s digital devices include phrases such as “pedo lolita preteen,” “14yo Russian Prostitute” and “rape,” among graphic sexual terms, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint. The videos, some of which are more than an hour long, show children engaging in oral, digital, genital and anal sex, and include at least one victim who appears to have a mental disability.

McClain, 46, was arrested following the raid and initially pleaded not guilty to possession of child pornography. On Wednesday, he changed his plea to guilty and admitted to downloading child sexual abuse material that depicted real teenagers and pre-teens engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

He faces up to 20 years in state prison and is expected to be sentenced on June 24, prosecutors said. Once released, he will be required to register as a sex offender.

McClain came across Homeland Security’s radar in 2024 as part of an ongoing investigation into users using peer-to-peer networks to download and distribute child sexual abuse material, according to the affidavit. A peer-to-peer network is a system where computers connect directly to share data without a central server, which enables users to exchange illegal material in a decentralized manner that is difficult to monitor.

In July 2024, an undercover agent was able to connect directly to a remote host computer and download several files containing child pornography, according to the affidavit.

The agent determined that the host computer had software with the username “astro99999” and an IP address connected to McClain’s home address in Menifee. In February 2025, the agent again identified a host computer with the same username and IP address sharing files for child pornography.

Detectives then executed a search warrant at McClain’s home on March 13, 2025, seized numerous digital devices and arrested him.

In addition to hundreds of child sexual abuse files, they found footage from what appears to be a hidden camera inside the home’s bathroom showing an older woman taking a shower and then getting out of the shower naked, according to the affidavit.

Investigators interviewed McClain’s wife, who said she worked as a police officer and has a degree in computer programming, and they live together at home with their three children, ages 9, 13 and 16, according to the affidavit. They found a police car in his garage and a police jacket in his bedroom, along with other law enforcement clothing.

On the day of the raid, McClain’s supervisor at the San Diego State University Police Department confirmed that he was employed as a sergeant in the department and was not assigned to investigate cases related to child abuse, according to the affidavit.

SDSU then released a statement admitting that the police officer was arrested while away from school and charged with possession of child pornography. The university said that when it heard about these allegations, it removed the police officer from his job, started the process of getting rid of him and started their investigation.

McClain has been in federal custody since his arrest in March 2025.