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Breach of Trust? Virginia Police Officer Charged in Child Porn Investigation.

It is a sad day whenever persons in positions of public trust are suspected of violating the laws. It is especially so when a police officer is charged. That recently occurred in the Richmond, Virginia metro area, when a police veteran was charged with various computer crimes involving child pornography.

The Richmond Times Dispatch reported Sunday that a Henrico County police officer faces child-pornography charges after his arrest in Bedford County by Virginia State Police and Bedford County sheriff's deputies late Friday evening.

According to the story by Jeff Shapiro, who was citing information from Sgt. Thomas J. Molnar, a state police spokesman, Officer Allan A. Hoffman III was arrested at a Bedford County residence late Friday, .

According to comments by State Police spokesman Molnar, Hoffman was charged with two felonies, possession of child pornography and production of child pornography. He was taken into custody after investigators consulted with the office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, said Molnar. As part of the investigation, police seized electronic material, including thumb drives and computer hard drives, in a May 10 raid on a western Henrico townhouse owned by an unnamed Henrico officer.

Shapiro reports Molnar said the investigation is continuing; a Henrico police spokesman declined to comment. Details on where he was being held were not immediately available. Hoffman has been suspended without pay from the Henrico Police Department, according to law-enforcement sources with knowledge of the situation.

For those of us who appreciate the sacrifices and risks police officers face on a daily basis, we hope the allegations will be found to be without merit and Officer Hoffman will be cleared. After all, a person is presumed innocent until his guilt has been determined in court. However, if the charges are valid and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, his punishment is likely to be most severe.

Mr. Stelly regularly appears in the courts of the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Goochland County, and Hanover County.

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