Howard “Bud” Harper, 63, was taken into custody and booked into the Arapahoe County Detention Center on 17 counts of sexual exploitation of children, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said Aug. 10 in a news release. 

Harper is employed by the “Real Soccer Club” as an age coordinator and previously worked as a coach, according to the release. 

Investigators in the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child pornography being traded from an IP address in Arapahoe County, the sheriff’s office said in the release. 

The investigators discovered that files containing alleged child pornography were being uploaded, and the files included underage victims ranging in age from toddlers to teens, according to the release. The sheriff’s office said investigators identified Harper as the suspect. 

On Wednesday, Aug. 10, the investigators executed a search warrant in unincorporated Arapahoe County, according to the release. Harper was taken into custody and is facing charges on 17 counts of sexual exploitation of children, which is a class 5 felony, the office said in the release. 

The investigation is still ongoing as of Aug. 10. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office asked that anyone with information about this case contact the tip line at: (720) 874-8477.