City official arrested, child porn charged

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CHARLESTOWN, Mass., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A Charlestown, Mass., city official and neighborhood volunteer was arrested on child pornography charges, and community leaders expressed shock at the arrest.

James Mansfield, 47, a 28-year city employee and city transportation official with two school-age sons and a record of involvement in several local youth activity groups, was freed on bond Monday evening after his arrest on possession of child pornography, the Boston Herald reported Tuesday.

"If the allegations are true, it's very disturbing to me and to everyone," said Charlestown Councilor Salvatore LaMattina. "I have a neighborhood shocked. I have a very good family from Charlestown that's devastated."

Boston police detectives assigned to the Crimes Against Children Unit received a "cybertip" from Massachusetts State police about online chats in which Mansfield allegedly participated, the Suffolk County, Mass., District Attorney's Office said.

"The chats were graphic in nature in their discussion of sexual activity with young boys," said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, adding the charges against Mansfield "shock the conscience."

Investigators tracked the chat room conversation to Mansfield's cellphone and home, where police allegedly found more than 100 photos of young boys on his computer and on a flash drive, the newspaper said.