A Bend-La Pine Schools music teacher was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of possessing images that allegedly show child sexual abuse.

Erik Duane Ekstrom, 35, faces charges of encouraging child sexual abuse.

The Oregon Department of Justice task force reported to Bend police Aug. 11 that it had found a child sexual abuse video that “had been uploaded and linked to Erik Ekstrom’s digital devices,” according to a press release from the Bend Police Department.

The task force, which investigates internet crimes against children, continued to provide tips to the department that police say connected the images to Ekstrom’s devices.

Police searched Ekstrom’s home on NE Viking Avenue in Bend at around 7 a.m. Thursday. They seized multiple digital devices from the home and arrested Ekstrom on suspicion of two counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse.

Bend Police spokeswoman Sheila Miller said she did not know what devices were seized and added that information was part of the ongoing investigation.

Bend-La Pine Schools addressed the arrest in a message to district families Thursday.

The district said the images of concern are not believed to be of children in the local area. The district also said that while there is “no current indication that Mr. Ekstrom’s alleged crimes have a nexus to our students, staff, or schools,” people with any information should contact police.

“We take threats to the safety and well-being of our community very seriously and are working collaboratively with law enforcement as they continue this investigation,” the statement read.

Ekstrom is listed on the staff page as a music teacher at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon. A bio on the church’s website says that Ekstrom is on administrative leave.

Ekstrom was born and raised in Bend, according to the information on the church’s website. He attended Highland Magnet at Kenwood School, where his father was once the principal, according to a school principal welcome letter in August 2021.

Ekstrom graduated from Summit High School in 2006 and went to college in Minnesota, according to the church bio. He taught K-8 music classes in Minnesota for nearly a decade, according to the welcome letter.

Bend-La Pine Schools hired Ekstrom to teach at Highland Magnet at Kenwood School in August 2021, according to a district spokesperson. He was assigned to teach at Cascade Middle School, Pacific Crest Middle School and Summit High School for the upcoming 2022-2023 academic year.

Police say the investigation is ongoing and are asking people with information to contact Detective Ian Macdonell at the nonemergency dispatch line: 541-693-6911.