The Penn State employee arrested Tuesday on charges related to the sexual abuse of children has been placed on administrative leave without pay by the university, said Richard Durst, dean of the College of Arts and Architecture.

Adam R. Chadwick, 25, of State College, was investigated after his girlfriend found pictures of nude girls under the age of 18 in his Ferguson Township apartment. His arrest came after police recovered 46 images of nude girls on his computer.

Chadwick is being charged with 46 counts of sexual abuse of children and 46 counts of criminal use of a communication facility.

This marks the third arrest relating to the sexual abuse of minors in the State College area -- and the second with a Penn State connection -- within the last month. Kyle J. Snarski, a student, was arrested earlier this month on charges of distribution of child pornography, sexual abuse of children and criminal use of communication facilities. Also, Ferguson Township resident Thomas R. Koval II faces 41 counts each of sexual abuse of children and criminal use of a communication facility.

Local officials are confident the arrests are not an indication of a new trend in the area.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon believes these alleged offenses do not reveal a trend at Penn State, especially because neither offenses were committed on campus and had no relation to each other.

"I think it's, sadly, two more allegations of a crime that happens every day all over the country," he said.

The two cases do not raise any "special, new concern" for Penn State, and it is doubtful that any new measure could be taken to prevent such cases that had no finite connection to the university, Mahon added.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Robert Erdely, who worked on the Snarski and Chadwick cases, said these types of arrests commonly lead to additional arrests.

"Once we catch one guy and seize his computer, we can see who he's communicated with," Erdely said.

There have been other arrests across the state that are related to the arrest at Penn State, he said. The State Police have recently obtained a search warrant for a University of Pittsburgh student and a resident of Elizabeth, a small town close to Pittsburgh, Erdely added.

Depictions of nude children and children involved in sexually explicit acts are things that have been around but are not often noticed, Erdely said. The Internet might have an effect on the availability of child pornography, he added.

"I think they feel more secure because they don't have to order a magazine and have it delivered to their home addresses," Erdely said.

People who do transfer depictions of nude minors and child pornography over the Internet are not safer and may be subject to harsher penalties, Erdely said. Using the Internet to commit a felony, such as viewing or sharing child pornography, results in an additional felony, abuse of a communication facility, he said.