Former East Helena Police Chief William Daly Harrington made an initial court appearance Tuesday on a criminal complaint accusing him of distributing child pornography, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney s office.
Harrington is also under criminal investigation over a separate allegation of sexual assault, according to a press release from the city of East Helena.Â
His attorney Scott Albers declined to comment on Tuesday.
A criminal complaint filed in the child pornography case and unsealed Tuesday alleges that Harrington, 42, of Helena, distributed child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said. The crime has a mandatory minimum penalty of five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release.
Former East Helena Police Chief Charged With Distributing Child Porn
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) The former police chief in East Helena made an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday on a complaint alleging he distributed child pornography via Facebook Messenger.
William Daly Harrington, 42, was arrested Tuesday. He did not enter a plea during his appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto in Missoula. Harrington was detained pending a detention hearing Wednesday. He is expected to enter a plea June 3.
His attorney, Scott Albers of Helena, declined to comment Tuesday.
According to the criminal complaint, an FBI agent received a tip from Facebook in September 2020 that an account that was later determined to belong to Harrington shared a sexually explicit image involving a girl who was about 10 years old.
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