FORT PAYNE, Ala. — A school resource officer formerly employed by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of sexual contact with a student. Sheriff's office officials said 32-year-old Jairo Alexander Castillo was taken to the DeKalb County Jail, where he currently remains with a bond set at $300,000.
A statement from the sheriff's office says an investigation was launched after complaints about Castillo were made with both the department and the county board of education.
State Bureau of Investigation officials took charge of the case; the sheriff's office said it is protocol to hand investigations over to the state or an outside agency when a sheriff's office employee is the subject being investigated.
No further details about the investigation were released.
“It’s unfortunate that something like this has happened in our own community and it is definitely a black eye in many ways for us all," said Sheriff Nick Welden in a written statement. “I hoped and prayed these allegations were unfounded but according to the investigation, evidence proves otherwise and now it’s time to deal with it head on."
ALEA assisted in Castillo's arrest, along with SBI officers and members of the DeKalb County Drug Task Force, the sheriff's office said.