BEREA —
A former Richmond police officer charged with downloading thousands of child pornography images and videos on his computer has accepted a plea agreement in federal court.
James Jonathan Rogers, 37, agreed July 23 to plead guilty and not appeal any sentence less than eight years in prison in exchange for one of the counts against him being dropped, according to court documents.
Rogers joined the Richmond Police Department in January 2000 and attained the rank of sergeant. However, he was dismissed by the city commission in June 2010 following a group sex incident with a Richmond woman and two other RPD officers in which the woman was injured.
Rogers pleaded guilty to knowingly receiving child pornography via interstate or foreign commerce, which includes over the Internet, according to the plea agreement document.
From August 2011 to December 2011, undercover law enforcement agents observed Rogers’ computer offering child porn for download over a peer-to-peer network, the plea agreement stated. The Kentucky Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Branch executed a state search warrant Dec. 6 on Rogers’ home.
“Later forensic examination of (Rogers’) computer revealed thousands of images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” the court documents stated.
The maximum penalty for the federal charge of receipt of child pornography is five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The second count against Rogers, which the plea agreement said would be dropped, pertains to possessing and accessing child pornography in books, magazines and films. That charge carried a sentence of no more than 10 years and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Rogers’ plea, however, is conditional. He reserved the right to appeal the conviction based on the U.S. district judge’s denial of a motion to suppress evidence in the case. If his appeal succeeds, he can withdraw his guilty plea, according to the agreement.
In the suppression motion, Rogers argued that the Kentucky Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes division did not have jurisdiction to investigate him based on state law, and therefore the evidence from his home was illegally seized.
A recent Kentucky Court of Appeals ruling has limited the attorney general’s ability to investigate certain crimes unless invited to do so by local authorities, state courts or the governor. However, U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell said in her motion denial that just because a search may have violated state law, it does not necessarily mean it violated the federal Constitution, specifically the Fourth Amendment.
Rogers’ sentencing is set for 1 p.m. Oct. 24 in U.S. District Court in Lexington. Upon serving his prison sentence, Rogers will be required to register as a sex offender.
Sarah Hogsed can be reached at shogsed@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.
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James Rogers
Former RPD officer accepts plea in child porn case
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