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State cop faces child-porn charges
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Related Topics: Boonsboro, MD
Boonsboro, MD (Map, News) - A Maryland state trooper was arrested Thursday night after federal officials identified his address in an ongoing investigation of online child pornography traffic.
Trooper First Class Brian Murphy, 34, of Boonsboro was apprehended by state police at his residence shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday and charged with 10 counts of possessing pornographic images of children.
According to a statement from the Maryland State Police, the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force notified troopers in late April that an investigation had singled out Murphy's Internet provider address as having accessed child pornography.
After further investigation, officials executed a search warrant at Murphy's home. A forensic scan of the trooper's hard drive turned up several explicit images of underage individuals.
Murphy, a seven-year veteran of the force assigned to the Frederick Barracks, was suspended from active duty on May 10.
After processing at the Hagerstown Barracks, Murphy appeared before a commissioner at the Washington County District Court late Thursday night, where he was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
According to Maryland state sentencing guidelines, possessing images of children engaged in certain sexual acts is a misdemeanor that carries with it a maximum of two years prison time and a $5,000 fine per count.
jdavisson@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
11:50 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 8, 2007 re: "State cop faces child-porn charges"
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11:27 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 8, 2007
re: "State cop faces child-porn charges"
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Examiner Reader said:
Just like the rest of you, this person is innocent until proven guilty. Lets not be hasty in our judgemnets.
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Jimmie said:
It is sad when those who are supposed to be protecting us are caught exploiting our children. Just goes to show you that what you think you are doing in the privacy of your home can ruin your life.
117 agree | 108 disagree
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