Ohio Police Officer Arrested By FBI On Charges Of Receiving, Distributing Child Pornography

A former officer with the Elmore Police Department, Ohio, was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday on charges of receiving and distributing child pornography.

A press release from the FBI stated an investigation into the case began earlier this month after FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force received a cyber tip stating that "an individual had been utilizing a social media messenger app to upload and/or send to another user or group of users 26 videos or image files of child sexual abuse material, also referred to as child pornography."

The investigators determined the owner of the IP addresses, used to send and receive the videos and images, was 26-year-old Samuel Kurp, who was employed as a police officer with the Elmore Police Department since 2017.

On Tuesday, search warrants were executed at the officer’s previous and recent address. Following this, the officer resigned from the police department and was arrested.

"Kurp was taken into custody today by members of the FBI’s Toledo Resident Agency’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force without incident. Kurp will have an initial appearance in federal court tomorrow, August 12, 2020. Kurp has been charged with receipt and distribution of child pornography," the press release stated.

"An Elmore Police Department representative confirmed Kurp’s work attendance at the department on specified dates and times when child pornographic images and/or videos were distributed," the press release added.

Speaking about the case, Elmore Police Chief Jeffrey Harrison, told WTOL 11, "I called all my officers for a meeting and they were disheartened. Sickened. I explained to them that we cannot let the actions of a few represent all the good things that we do and the positive things that we do in our community."

In a Facebook post, the police department said there was "no information that any local victims were involved."

"Child sexual exploitation is not a crime we take lightly. The staff at the Elmore Police Department are dedicated to the mission of protecting our community. We strive to prevent the shocking allegations against one officer discourage the faith the community has entrusted upon us to protect and serve," the Facebook post stated.

In a similar incident earlier this year, a 41-year-old Florida deputy was arrested for possessing child pornography. A search warrant was executed at Rashaad Smith's home after officials received cyber tips "about the transmission of child pornography on Skype." He was fired from service and charged with 100 counts of child pornography.