Pulitzer-Winning Washington Post Journalist Charged With Child Porn Offenses
A Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist was arrested and charged following an investigation which uncovered child porn material on his work computer, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday.
Police arrested Thomas Pham LeGro, 48, and took him into custody on Thursday after FBI agents raided his home and seized several electronic devices.
After investigators reviewed LeGro’s work laptop, they found a folder that contained 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse material, Pirro’s office announced in a press release.
Agents also found “fractured pieces of a hard drive in the hallway outside the room where LeGro’s work laptop was found,” the release said.
LeGro, who was working as a video editor for the left-leaning outlet, appeared to have desperately smashed his personal laptop just as agents were executing the warrant.
LeGro made his first appearance in District Court of Washington, DC, on Friday.
He now has a detention hearing scheduled for next Wednesday, the New York Post reported.
LeGro, who worked for The Washington Post for 18 years, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
LeGro worked in the outlet’s sports department from 2000–2006 before becoming a reporter and producer for PBS NewsHour, then returned to WaPo in 2013, according to his biography.
According to a heavily redacted FBI file, LeGro was allegedly linked to multiple E-Gold accounts in 2005 and 2006.
The now-defunct digital payment processor was seized by the feds in 2007 after evidence emerged that it was used to launder money for child pornographers.
The FBI first obtained permission to monitor LeGro’s online activities this past May, according to the affidavit.
LeGro, a member of the outlet’s video operation, was part of a team of reporters who won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the 2017 Alabama Senate special election.
A spokesperson for The Washington Post revealed LeGro has been placed on leave following his arrest.
“The Washington Post understands the severity of these allegations, and the employee has been placed on leave,” the outlet said in a statement.
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