Former Boy Scouts den mother arrested on child pornography charges

MARION, AR (WMC) - The Chickasaw Council of the Boy Scouts of America is responding to the arrest of a former Arkansas Cub Scout leader on child pornography charges.

However, the charges are not connected to the boys she once supervised.

Christina McCafferty, 38, is charged with sexual indecency with a child and computer child pornography. She is a former "den mother" in the Marion, Arkansas chapter.

Through an anonymous tip, investigators learned and confirmed with Boy Scouts of America that McCafferty used to work as a scout leader.

"She has been removed from scouting quite some time ago," said Scout Executive Richard Fisher. "It's our understanding that this incident has nothing to do with the Boy Scouts."

Scout Leader Jason Goodbar said McCafferty was removed as a leader more than three months ago. When asked, Fisher would not elaborate as to why she was removed, but did say that child safety is the Boy Scouts' number one priority.

"We have the most comprehensive youth protection training in the country and we are continuously evaluating our program and looking for ways to advance it to keep youth safe," Fisher said.

We went to an address listed for McCafferty in West Memphis. Neighbors said they saw police cars outside her home on Friday evening.

"About three or four," said neighbor Keri Rogers. "That's all I know is they were parked outside."

Neighbors recognized McCafferty, but said they didn't know her well. Some were shocked to hear about the charges since they say children often play in the neighborhood.

"It's distressing any time a youth is hurt, and it doesn't matter what the organization is, it's unacceptable and we will continue to fight for all youth," Fisher said.

Marion Police Department was not available to provide more information on McCafferty's arrest Saturday.

Copyright 2017 WMC Action News 5. All rights reserved.