A U.S. Navy sailor is suspected of possessing child pornography, and investigators allege some of the illicit photos were taken at or near the serviceman’s San Diego home.
Petty Officer 1st Class John Christian Ward was arrested on charges of child pornography possession Nov. 16 after agents served a search warrant on his Birdland home.
A federal complaint alleges that dozens of images of youngs girls engaged in sex acts — some under age 12 — were uploaded to the social media site Google+ by Ward, according to various media outlets.
An investigation into Ward was triggered after Google notified law enforcement in May about the uploads, according to the complaint.
During the investigation, San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children task force and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents determined some of the images appeared to be new and not already in the databases of known child porn. In the complaint, investigators allege those “new” images were taken at or near Ward’s home.
Ward has pleaded not guilty to all charges; he is expected to appear in federal court next week for a preliminary hearing.
The Navy said it was cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
“We take these kinds of charges seriously and we will cooperate with the appropriate agencies,” Navy spokesperson Brian O’Rourke said in a statement.
–Staff