MISSOULA—A shocking case of alleged child pornography distribution has surfaced in Montana, with former East Helena Police Chief William Daly Harrington, 42, of Helena, facing serious federal charges. According to Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson, Harrington had an initial appearance today on a criminal complaint accusing him of distributing child pornography.
The crime of distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years to life of supervised release. It is essential to note that a criminal complaint is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Harrington voluntarily surrendered this morning and was taken into custody by the FBI. The arrest is the result of a joint investigation between the FBI and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office as part of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided over the initial appearance, during which Harrington was detained pending further proceedings.
According to the criminal complaint and affidavit filed in support of the complaint, in September 2020, a law enforcement officer began investigating a Cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, a national centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. The investigation led to a Facebook account that used a fictitious name and was created and controlled by Harrington, who was the East Helena chief of police at the time.
The court documents further alleged that Harrington distributed child pornography to the Facebook account of another individual on multiple occasions. The FBI, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Bozeman Police Department, and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the case.
Harrington’s case has been assigned the PACER case reference MJ-21-9. The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
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Key Facts
- State: Montana
- Category: Sex Crimes,Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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