AUSTIN -- A high-ranking Texas Department of Public Safety official is the subject of a child pornography investigation, several sources within the agency confirmed to 11 News.

The unnamed official has not been charged with a crime, but has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

A DPS spokesperson refused to tell 11 News why the official was suspended, but sources close to the investigation confirmed it involves child pornography.

Those sources said that as many as 10,000 images might have been downloaded on the suspended official's department-issued computer.

The official was suspended last Friday and the DPS issued an agency-wide e-mail at about the same time warning all employees to use their computers for business purposes only. The DPS has hundreds of staffers who take home department-issued computers.

“The Texas Department of Public Safety if very concerned that all employees use their state-issued equipment in appropriate ways,” the DPS said in a written statement to 11 News. “The department has in place policies regarding the appropriate use of state equipment and resources.”

Sources also confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are leading the criminal investigation and are working closely with computer technicians within the DPS.

Those same sources said the investigation could easily expand in the coming days.