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Articles
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| Children’s museum chief arrested for distributing child porn |
VOICE writes, "By Hannah Rexroth
A National Children’s Museum employee who was recently arrested on child pornography charges was fired on Nov. 15, according to a museum statement.
Robert Singer, former chief operating officer of the National Children’s Museum, was arrested earlier this month for distributing child pornography over the Internet, the statement says.
Singer, 49, worked for four years as the museum’s spokesperson and was promoted to chief operating officer a few months ago.
“It was an administrative position,” said museum spokesperson Andrea James. “He had no contact with the children.”"
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According to a statement released by U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia, Singer sent pornographic images over the Internet five times in August to an undercover detective from the New York City Police Department, who he believed was a mother and her 12-year-old daughter. After posing as a 15-year-old boy and sending images to the purported daughter, he allegedly told the daughter to delete the images when she was done.
A judicially authorized search of his Internet accounts showed that between July and September 2007 he sent approximately 80 pornographic images to individuals, and received 10 images and one video.
Singer was arrested at his home in Falls Church, Va., by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and charged with five counts of distributing child pornography in Internet commerce. If convicted, he would face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the first count and 40 years for each additional count.
According to the museum statement, Singer was initially suspended and barred from the property. “We are horrified by the charges,” the statement said. “This news is deeply upsetting to the National Children's Museum family.”
The statement continues: “Anyone who does anything that might endanger the welfare of a child has no place here. Harming children is against everything we stand for as an organization and as individuals.”
The National Children’s Museum was formerly known as the Capital Children’s Museum and is not yet open to the public. After being designated the National Children’s Museum by Congress in 2003, the Capital Children’s Museum closed to build a new museum at National Harbor, a 300-acre development along the Potomac River. The museum is scheduled to open in 2012.
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Posted on Dec 02, 2007 13:44pm.
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