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Former La. mayor Wilson Longanecker arrested for child porn possession

Longanecker served as mayor of Sorrento from 2011 until 2013.

By Matt Bradwell

SORRENTO, La., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A former small-town Louisiana mayor was arrested Thursday and charged with 40 separate counts of child pornography possession after authorities discovered he owned that many videos of children between age 3 and 14 engaging in sexual behavior.

Wilson Longanecker Jr., 41, is also charged with one count of obstruction of justice as authorities say he attempted to conceal evidence when his Sorrento home was raided Thursday morning.

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"He attempted to hide some of the evidence as we were executing the search warrant," Kurt Wall of the State Attorney General's Office told WAFB.

"Unfortunately, I can't go into a lot of the details of how the evidence was developed. We will continue to analyze the evidence that was seized today and we'll go where ever that evidence leads us."

Longanecker served as mayor of Sorrento from 2011 until 2013, when he claimed a foot injury forced him to decline a reelection bid. His arrest resulted from a joint law enforcement effort between the Attorney General's Cyber Crime Unit, the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Louisiana State Police.

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"Crimes like this illustrate how important it is to actively, aggressively pursue those who exploit our children," Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said in a statement.

"I'm proud of the efforts of my Cyber Crime Unit and I thank our law enforcement officers who helped build the case. My office is fully committed to stopping this activity with the best technology available."

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