A well-known editor from The Washington Post, Thomas P. LeGro, has been charged with possessing child pornography. The 48-year-old journalist was arrested on Thursday after authorities discovered 11 videos of child sexual abuse material on his work laptop at his home in Washington, D.C.
If convicted, LeGro could face up to 20 years in prison. Following the arrest, The Washington Post issued a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the charges and confirmed that LeGro has been placed on leave. However, the newspaper chose not to provide further comments on the situation.
LeGro has an impressive background, having been part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for their reporting on Roy Moore’s Senate candidacy. He also serves as the Deputy Director of Video at The Washington Post, overseeing a team of video journalists across various sections of the newsroom.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, LeGro made his first court appearance on Friday. FBI agents executed a search warrant at his home on June 26, leading to the seizure of several electronic devices. During their investigation, they found a folder on LeGro’s work laptop that contained the disturbing videos. Additionally, agents noted that there were broken pieces of a hard drive found outside the room where the laptop was located.
The case is being handled by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which focuses on investigating and prosecuting individuals involved in the exploitation of children and human trafficking.