Longtime Capitol police officer accused of possessing child porn

A man who has spent nearly two decades as a U.S. Capitol police officer has been arrested in connection with a suspected child pornography investigation.

At about 5 a.m. on Monday morning, Maryland State Police arrested 42-year-old Jared Lemon at his home in Owings, about 30 miles southeast of Washington, D.C. The arrest relates to allegations which surfaced last December, when the MSP began looking into a report of child pornography. Officers had received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that someone in the area had uploaded images suspected to be sexually exploitative material featuring a minor. Further investigation into the tip indicated that the suspect was a police officer.

At the time, members of MSP served a search warrant at Lemon's home and seized several electronic devices. When officials with the USCP received word about the search conducted at Lemon's residence, they immediately "revoked" his police powers and placed him in an administrative role with no "public" interaction, a USCP statement claimed.

Lemon joined the Capitol force back in 2005 and served with the Uniformed Services Bureau, WUSA reported. After his arrest on Monday, he was suspended "pending the outcome of the criminal case," the USCP statement added.

According to investigators, "evidence of the possession of child pornography" was discovered on the devices seized from Lemon's residence. He has been charged with five counts of felony possession of child pornography. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars and/or face tens of thousands of dollars in fines.

Lemon remains in custody at the Calvert County Detention Center. His bond has been denied. While MSP continues its investigation into the criminal case against Lemon, the USCP Office of Professional Responsibility has claimed that it will conduct an administrative investigation into the allegations after the criminal case concludes.

It is unclear whether Lemon has hired an attorney or been assigned a public defender at this time.

H/T: the National Pulse

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!