A Fair Oaks music teacher who ran lessons out of his own home, including for children as young as 4, is now sitting in the Sacramento County Main Jail after detectives say they found child sexual abuse material during a search of his residence. Jiamo Chen, 43, was booked on suspicion of possessing the material following the search, which took place Wednesday at his Fair Oaks home.
According to CBS Sacramento, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office opened its investigation into Chen after receiving information that he was suspected of downloading child sexual abuse material. Detectives served a search warrant at his Fair Oaks home Wednesday and said they found evidence supporting that suspicion, leading to his arrest and booking into the Sacramento County Main Jail.
The case was actually built by a specialized unit: the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, a regional law enforcement group operating within the Sheriff's Office that led the digital investigation after reports surfaced that Chen was downloading the material, according to ABC10. The task force was formed in the mid-1990s as part of the Sheriff's Office Centralized Investigations Division and now draws personnel from more than 60 local, state, and federal agencies, including the CHP and FBI Task Force Officers, per the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
A Decade of Lessons, and New Questions for Parents
Per CBS Sacramento's report, Chen had operated a music studio out of his Fair Oaks residence and had been a music instructor in the Sacramento area for the past decade, teaching students including children as young as 4 years old. The same report notes that detectives have not uncovered evidence that Chen had inappropriate physical contact with a child.
Even so, investigators say they are concerned about Chen's access to children through his business and are working to determine whether there may be additional unreported incidents, the station's report states. The Sheriff's Office said it is not aware of any previous reports or concerns involving Chen, but is now encouraging parents or guardians whose children took music lessons from him to talk with their kids about their interactions with him.
Investigators Seek More Information
Investigators are working to determine whether there may be additional unreported incidents during Chen's decade of teaching in the area.
What California Law Says About CSAM Charges
Possession of child sexual abuse material is prosecuted in California under Penal Code Section 311.11, and recent state laws — AB 1831 and SB 1381 — expanded CSAM prohibitions to explicitly cover AI-generated depictions of child sexual abuse and exploitation, according to the California Attorney General's Office. A conviction also carries mandatory registration as a sex offender under Penal Code Section 290, with tiers set by the California Department of Justice ranging from 10 years to life depending on the court's determination and any prior history.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Local Task Force Sweeps
This isn't the task force's first high-profile action. In October 2023, a two-week Internet Crimes Against Children operation by the same unit led to 12 arrests in the Sacramento Valley region for downloading CSAM to personal devices, according to the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.
The volume of cases nationwide underscores why task forces like this one stay busy. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline processed 21.3 million reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation in 2025, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Fair Oaks, a census-designated place in Sacramento County, has an estimated 2026 population of roughly 32,300 residents, according to World Population Review. It remains unclear whether forensic analysis of evidence from Chen's home will lead to additional charges, and no preliminary court dates or bail terms had been established as of the latest reporting.
