A Rockaway Beach police officer accused of encouraging child sex abuse will remain in jail unless he posts a $500,000 bail, a judge ruled Friday.

Aaron Clark is a Rockaway Beach police officer and the former varsity softball coach for Neah-Kah-Nie High School. He is charged with requesting and receiving a nude photo of a then-14-year-old female player, and subsequently destroying the girl's iPod from which the message was sent.

His wife, Jennifer Clark, is also charged with attempting to hide evidence in the case.

Judge Eric Butterfield, a visiting judge from Washington County, did not lower the security amount as request by the defense. Clark remains in the Tillamook County Jail on charges of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, a Class A felony and Measure 11 offense; encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree, a Class C felony; and tampering with physical evidence, a Class A misdemeanor.

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