Everett An employee at a Bothell middle school is facing felony charges after being arrested on suspicion of possessing child sex abuse material.

The 47-year-old Bothell man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail on Wednesday following an investigation that began earlier this month, according to charging documents.

On October 6, detectives with the Bothell Police Department became aware of someone downloading images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit activities from an IP address that was later connected to the suspect, court documents said.

Police and members of the Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at the man’s home on Wednesday, court documents said.

During an interview with investigators, the man said he worked as a paraeducator at Canyon Park Middle School in the Northshore School District for approximately two years, according to a police report.

On Thursday afternoon, the school district said the man was immediately placed on administrative leave after learning of his arrest on Wednesday.

Bothell Police Department confirmed the arrest was not related to Northshore students, Carri Campbell, the district’s director of communications, said in an email. The safety of children within our broader community and Northshore School District is our top priority, and we will continue to support the police response as needed.

The district spokesperson said the Canyon Park Middle School community was made aware of the arrest.

The suspect reportedly told detectives he’d downloaded child sexual abuse material 20 times over the past two months, court documents said. The suspect also allegedly admitted to downloading nearly 200 gigabytes of the illegal content.

In charging documents, police said the man composed an apology letter addressed to the victims whose abuse he viewed, stating in part, I am sorry I was viewing your abuse. This was a terrible act, it should never have happened to you, and it was not your fault.

The man is currently accused of five counts of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents.

He is being held on no bond while awaiting an initial arraignment hearing on Thursday, jail records said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.