LOS ANGELES
A former Long Beach Police officer pleaded guilty Monday to a federal criminal charge for distributing child pornography, officials stated.
Anthony Brown was on duty as a law enforcement officer when he committed these crimes.
Brown, 57, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. scheduled a July 25 sentencing hearing. Brown is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
According to his plea agreement, Brown used his smartphone to log into MeWe, an internet-based messaging application, including when he was on duty as a Long Beach Police officer.
While logged in, Brown knowingly distributed and possessed child
pornography.
Brown admitted in his plea agreement to distributing sexually explicit images of girls in November 2019, March 2020 and April 2020.
From October 2019 through May 2020, Brown also knowingly possessed a sexually explicit image of a girl who appeared to be 11 or 12 years old.
Brown was a Long Beach Police officer for 27 years. He left the force last year after his arrest on state charges of possession and distribution of child pornography.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office dismissed those charges in light of the federal case.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Long Beach Police Department investigated this matter.