REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 1 (UPI) -- A December search of a California probation department manager turned up images of hardcore child pornography, court documents state.
Police say they found seven pictures of young boys having sex among 400 suspected images of child pornography on a work laptop and thumb drive. They also said a personal desktop computer hard drive had been removed just prior to the search warrant in December. The hard drive was never located.
Stuart Forrest, who was named to lead the San Mateo County Probation Department in 2009, said the images were for training purposes, meant to show officers under his direction what to look for during an investigation, the Bay Area News Group said Sunday.
The investigation began when U.S. Postal Service investigators said Forrest placed an online order using his email address, credit card and home address from a company that sells child pornography. During their search, court documents indicate investigators found two DVDs containing child pornography.
Forrest maintains his identity was stolen to make the purchases.
Federal prosecutors examined the evidence and declined to prosecute the case. The California attorney general's office has taken up the matter and charged Forrest with two felony counts of child pornography. He faces a maximum three years, eight months in prison if convicted.
He has since retired from the probation department.
Forrest's lawyer, Jaime Leanos, said her client denies the charges and will not accept a plea deal to avoid a trial.
Leanos noted the federal government's decision not to pursue the case and the relatively light charges filed by the state.
In child pornography cases, prosecutors generally file an individual charge for each video or picture depicting child pornography.
"Given the number of inappropriate images they consider 'child pornography,' it's very telling that there are only two charges," said Leanos. "And given his position in law enforcement he has a legitimate reason to possess them as part of his job."
