Hunter
11/11/24
Iowa’s state librarian was arrested last week on a charge of disseminating obscene material to a person he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
Clive police announced Friday that they arrested 53-year-old Michael Scott of Clive, who is the state librarian.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Scott used an anonymous messaging app called KiK to communicate with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old male named Ricky. Scott allegedly sent the individual messages stating that he was on KiK “out of curiosity” and that he liked “being dirty.”
Scott allegedly sent multiple images of his face before sending a video of himself masturbating underneath his shorts. Police allege he then sent a picture of his exposed penis with the camera tilted at an upward angle and his face visible in the image.
The individual Scott was messaging was actually a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. Because of jurisdictional issues, the sheriff’s office then shared its information with Clive police for additional investigation.
Scott was charged with dissemination of obscene material to a minor, a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a requirement to be put on the state’s Sex Offender Registry for ten years.
The office of the State Library offers a range of services and programs to libraries and citizens in the state; Scott’s position is by appointment from a nine-member Commission of Libraries. His name and photo were recently deleted from the State Library’s website, but court records provided by Scott indicated he was currently employed by the State with a salary of $140,000 per year.