Butte College officer pleads not guilty to child pornography charges, gets bail

BUTTE COUNTY, CA— A Butte College police officer who was arrested back in August for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography pleaded not guilty in Butte County Superior Court on Thursday.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Allen Lamont Charles, 48, was arrested back in April on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography after the Butte County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing Persons. conduct and operation. Children (NCMEC).

Charles was released from the Butte County Jail the same day he was arrested after posting $150,000 bail, Ramsey said.

BCSO began investigating information obtained from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) data system and discovered that Charles not only possessed images and videos of child pornography, but also distributed some of them to two different individuals. Ramsey said it also emerged that the accounts used to send the images were accessed from multiple locations, including Charles’ home and an IP address assigned to the Butte College campus where he worked.

On August 28, Charles was arrested while leaving his home to go to work. Ramsey said additional electronics were seized from Charles, which were later forensically examined and found to contain additional images of child pornography. A search of Charles’ home during the arrest also led BCSO detectives to the discovery of an illegal assault rifle and a silencer.

Charles will return to court on December 4, 2024 for a preliminary hearing. Charles remains free on bail, Ramsey said.