Award-Winning Journalist Charged with Child Pornography Possession

WASHINGTON – The grim halls of U.S. District Court were occupied by a notorious figure this week: Thomas Pham LeGro, 48, who gained notoriety as an investigative journalist for the Washington Post, faced his first arraignment today on charges of possessing child pornography.

The charges against LeGro, a resident of the District of Columbia, stem from a search conducted by FBI agents at his home. The search, which turned up several electronic devices, yielded 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse material on LeGro’s work laptop. The investigation revealed what appeared to be fractured pieces of a hard drive in the hallway outside the room where the laptop was found.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the charges, thanking FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith for their contributions to the probe. The Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is leading the investigation, with assistance from federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and D.C.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caroline Burrell and Janani Iyengar are handling the prosecution of this case, which falls under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. This program, established in 2006, is dedicated to protecting children from online exploitation and abuse.

As with all criminal charges, LeGro is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

For more information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

RELATED: Award-Winning Journalist LeGro Charged With Child Porn