Ex-Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn faces charges of child pornography
Former College Park Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn (PGPD)
The 47-year-old mayor of College Park, Maryland, was arrested this week and charged with more than 50 felonies for alleged possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Patrick L. Wojahn resigned his mayoral post and was taken into custody Thursday morning on 40 counts of possession of child exploitation material and 16 counts of distributing child exploitation material, authorities said.
according to a press release The Prince George’s County Police Department’s National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) told PGPD investigators last month that a social media account operating under the department’s jurisdiction “possessed and distributed suspected child pornography.” .
The pictures and videos in question were uploaded to a social media account in January, police said.
“Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered that the social media account belonged to Wojahn,” police said.
Detectives obtained and executed a search warrant at Wojahn’s College Park home on Tuesday. Investigators say they seized several cell phones, a digital storage device, a tablet and a computer.
Wojahn, who began serving on College Park City Council in 2007 before being elected mayor in 2015, submitted his resignation to the council effective immediately late Wednesday, according to a press release out of town.
During a news conference announcing the arrest, Prince George’s County Police Commissioner Malik Aziz said the investigation into Wojahn is ongoing and more charges could be brought.
“We are sending a clear message to everyone involved with this type of material that units like this are seeking. They work every day to make sure we have a safe country and a safe state,” he said.
In his letter of resignationWojahn told City Council that an arrest warrant had been served against his home as part of an “ongoing police investigation” involving “no official city business of any kind.”
He said his resignation was in the best interests of the community so he would not be a distraction.
“Many of you have already reached out with good wishes and thoughts, and I am eternally grateful,” wrote Wojahn at the end of the letter. “I’m stepping down to take care of my own mental health.”
A special election will be held to fill the seat, officials said.
According to loading documents received from The Washington Post allegedly confirmed to detectives after his arrest that the Kik account they were investigating for uploading CSAM – “skippy_md” – belonged to him. He told investigators that he had viewed and owned child pornography files, the document said.
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https://lawandcrime.com/crime/college-park-mayor-faces-more-than-50-counts-of-possessing-and-distributing-child-pornography/ Ex-Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn faces charges of child pornography
