WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — A counselor at a Northwest Arkansas summer camp arrested for alleged child sex crimes has entered a plea and received a trial date.
Alexander Baiza, 22, of Olathe, Kansas, is accused of pandering or possessing visual or print medium depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child and two counts of sexual indecency with a child.
On April 24, Baiza pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled for July 15 in Washington County.
Court documents say that on Feb. 23, 2024, someone came forward to the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD) and reported sexual communications and grooming between a minor and Baiza.
The person who reported the incident believed the victim knew Baiza because he had allegedly been the victim's counselor at Camp War Eagle, which is described on the camp's Facebook as a "Christian sports and adventure camp for kids in Northwest Arkansas."
The person claimed they discovered messages between the child and Baiza, which included Baiza nude and performing sexual acts, court documents said. The text messages between Baiza and the child spanned from September 2023 and February 2024. Baiza allegedly asked the victim for nude photos and received them on at least nine occasions.
Court documents say Baiza discussed with the victim that he knew he would get in trouble because of the victim's age, adding that "Baiza frequently requested [the victim] to come visit him so that they could have sex."
FPD said Camp War Eagle confirmed that Baiza was at one point a staff member and provided his work file to police.
The arrest affidavit describes a controlled phone call being conducted involving Fayetteville detectives. During that call, Baiza allegedly admitted what he did was wrong and that he was aware of the victim's age. Court documents say that he told police he was only 18, but the documentation in his work file, which included a copy of his driver's license, indicated he was 21 at the time of the report.
An arrest warrant was issued in Washington County on March 8 and served on March 28 in Adams County, Iowa.
5NEWS reached out to Camp War Eagle for comment and did not hear back.
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