A St. Helens man who was indicted on 20 counts of first-degree encouragement of child sexual abuse was an instructional assistant working in special education classrooms for the Northwest Regional Education Service District.

St. Helens police officers arrested 36-year-old Isaac Filmore Reynolds on April 15 after he was indicted by a Columbia County grand jury, according to a press release from the police department. In the indictment, Reynolds is accused of duplicating recordings of children being sexually abused in December 2024 and January 2025. Reynolds has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

“Reynolds worked with us from September 16, 2024 to November 8, 2024 as an instructional assistant through a contracting agency,” NWRESD said in an April 16 release. “He was placed in our early childhood special education classrooms in St. Helens and Rainier.”

NWRESD’s early childhood special education classrooms support children ages 3-4 who have disabilities or developmental delays. They are not directly affiliated with the public school districts. Classes typically have about five students, with high adult-to-student ratios.

“Their needs are often complex and many of our students have limited verbal skills — these are some of the most vulnerable children in our community,” NWRESD Superintendent Dan Goldman said in an April 17 release. “Our educators care a lot about their wellbeing.”

Reynolds worked as an instructional assistant and was tasked with carrying out planned classroom activities and working with students under the direction of licensed staff.

Goldman specified that Reynolds worked for a contracting agency called Amergis, which provides education and health care staffing.

When the organization recently came under fire for contracting with communications advisor Tom DeLapp — who resigned after news came out that he had previously been arrested on suspicion of embezzling from an education nonprofit — a spokesperson with NWRESD said that contractors who work directly with children are given background checks. NWRESD confirmed April 17 that Reynolds was given a background check as well.

“We have directly contacted each of the families from these classrooms so they are aware of the indictment and made sure they have police contact information in case they have concerns to report,” Goldman said. “As you can imagine, this is deeply upsetting news for our families to receive. It’s also deeply upsetting for our educators based in Columbia County. We’ve offered onsite mental health support for both our families and employees.”

Reynolds’ indictment and arrest came after SHPD received a tip alleging that he had child pornography in his possession. On April 1, officers searched Reynolds’ residence and seized multiple items for evidence. An additional search warrant to analyze Reynolds’ digital devices was also obtained as the investigation continued, the release said.

Law enforcement is still investigating Reynolds and his online activities. Those with additional information should contact St. Helens Police Department detectives Kolten Edwards and Matthew Smith by calling 503-397-1521.