FBI agents came to the Oak Harbor Police Department Thursday night and arrested an officer on suspicion of receipt of child pornography, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday.
Special agents from the Bellingham office questioned Oak Harbor Officer John Little, a 27-year veteran of the force, and then took him into custody. Little was the Oak Harbor High School resource officer from 1998 to 2004 and filled in on a temporary basis in 2008, according to the Oak Harbor police.
According to the FBI report, Little is accused of exchanging sexually explicit messages with a 13-year-old girl, asking and receiving pornographic images and video of her and sending her an image of his genitals. The interaction occurred over the KIK messenger app on a smartphone.
Little tells the child that he is “at work” during one of the explicit conversations, the report states. She wrote that she was at school in another interaction.
The girl lives in another state.
The FBI report indicates that this may not have been a one-time occurrence. In an interview with the FBI, Little allegedly admitted that he “had sexually explicit conversations with individuals he knew or had reason to know were minors,” though he did not specifically recall conversations with the victim.
Little appeared before a magistrate judge Friday. He will remain detained at the detention center in Seatac pending a hearing Aug. 8.
A federal charge of receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory five-year sentence and up to 20 years in prison.
Interim Police Administrator Terry Gallagher said he immediately placed Little on paid administrative leave and had him surrender his badge and gun.
Ayn Dietrich, a spokesperson for the FBI, said the agents executed search warrants at homes on Southwest Kleeton Loop and SW Barrington Drive.
Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns pointed out that Little, 54, has not been convicted of a crime and city officials take his due-process rights seriously.
“The police department and the city take Officer Little’s due process rights very seriously and recognizes that he has not been convicted of a crime,” he said.
“However, given the nature of the federal investigation, interim Police Administrator Gallagher believes that immediate suspension from duty is the appropriate course of action.”
Gallagher said the police department will conduct an internal investigation once the FBI concludes its investigation.
Gallagher said he hopes the public realizes that the two officers who received awards this week for saving a man’s life and helping a woman in a domestic violence situation are more representative of the police department than this single allegation.
