A federal grand jury indicted Oak Harbor Police Officer John Little on one count of receipt of child pornography Wednesday.
The FBI arrested Little, a former Oak Harbor High School resource officer, when he arrived to work at the Oak Harbor Police Department on Aug. 4. Little was held in federal custody until he was released pending trial Aug. 8.
Under the terms of his release, Little will be monitored by Active Global Positioning Satellite technology.
Little is accused of exchanging sexually explicit images, videos and messages with a 13-year-old girl in another state through a KIK messenger app on a cell phone. The FBI’s report states that he sent her images of his penis and face.
According to text conversations included in the report, Little also allegedly made lewd suggestions to the child regarding objects and urged her to send him photos.
Little told the child that he was “at work” during one of their explicit conversations, the report states. The girl wrote that she was at school in another of their conversations.
The charging documents indicate that the crime occurred “in or about March 2016 and continuing until at least in or about July 2016.”
The FBI report also states that Little may have also been communicating with other children.
During 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.
Special agents from the Bellingham office of the FBI took Little, a 27-year veteran of the Oak Harbor police force, into custody after questioning him and serving a search warrant at his home.
Little was the school resource officer from 1998 to 2004 and filled in on a temporary basis in 2008, according to Oak Harbor police records.
Oak Harbor Police Department Interim Po-lice Administrator Terry Gallag-her immediately placed Little on paid administrative leave after his arrest and had him surrender his badge and gun.
Little’s defense attorney did not return a call for comment.
A federal charge of receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum five-year sentence and up to 20 years imprisonment.
