Flagstaff radio broadcaster Dave Zorn has been arrested on suspicion of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
He is currently held on a $100,000 bond at the Coconino County Detention Facility.
Zorn has worked in radio for three decades and is a familiar voice in northern Arizona as the news director for KAFF News. He is a frequent presence on social media, reporting on wildfires and other local news stories.
In a statement released late Monday, Flagstaff police said Zorn was one of 28 people busted in a multiagency operation led by the North Star Task Force.
Nine of those arrested — including Zorn — are charged with felonies ranging from luring of a minor to sexual exploitation of a minor and child sex trafficking.
The other 19 arrests are facing misdemeanor prostitution charges.
Authorities describe nearly all of those arrested as community members who lived and worked locally.
"Their arrests underscore the deeply concerning reality that child exploitation is not a distant or rare occurrence; it is a prevalent and ongoing issue hiding in plain sight," Flagstaff police pokesperson Sergeant Jerry Rintala said.
According to a Coconino County jail booking report, Zorn was booked into the detention facility last Thursday and remains in custody.
KAFF posted a statement about Zorn’s arrest on social media Monday:
“As soon as KAFF learned of Dave Zorn’s arrest, he was immediately placed on administrative leave, and we have disabled his access to our facilities, social media, and our electronic platforms. We do not have further details at this time. The KAFF News team will continue to proactively address the situation as more information becomes available to us."
He's no longer listed as news director on the station’s website.
At the time of his arrest, Zorn was teaching Presentation and Announcing Skills as a part-time faculty member in the School of Communication at Northern Arizona University.
“To ensure continuity of learning and progress for our students, his class has been reassigned to another instructor for the remainder of the semester. Mr. Zorn has been removed from any work associated with the university," NAU ΩKim Ott, associate vice president for communications at NAU, said.
Zorn is a graduate of NAU and St. Johns High School in Apache County.
Luring a minor for sexual exploitation is a class 3 felony in Arizona, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and five to 15 years if the victim is under the age of 15.
Zorn is scheduled to appear in Flagstaff Justice Court for a pre-trial conference Thursday.
This is a developing story and was last updated at 7 a.m. Tuesday.