Police dispatcher charged with child pornography

A police dispatcher from Lincoln was arrested this week on child pornography charges, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said.

Spencer Hughes, 38, of Randolph was charged with receiving and possessing pornographic images and videos of a person under 18 years old, Lelling said.

Hughes was held pending an Oct. 22 detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler.

A search was executed early Tuesday at Hughes’ Union Square condominium, where an external hard drive containing a folder with numerous pornographic images and videos of a girl appearing to be 10 or 11 years old was discovered on the kitchen table, according to an affidavit by a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations.

The hard drive was organized into folders primarily labeled by female first names, the agent said in her affidavit. In a folder named “Abigail+9videos,” she said, she found at least 19 sexually explicit digital files that had been created on Sept. 5, 2019.

Hughes is a Town of Lincoln Police Department dispatcher, officials said, adding they also found an ID badge with a photograph of the suspect, identifying him as a hotel security guard.

“The crime alleged is very concerning, and we will continue to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations,” Lincoln Police Chief A. Kevin Kennedy said in a statement. “Dispatcher Hughes has been placed on administrative leave without pay. The town will conduct
its own internal investigation and will take appropriate action.”

Receiving child pornography is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five to 20 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Possessing child pornography carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice created in 2006 to protect children from exploitation and abuse.

Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute people who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/319uuGi