Grand jury indicts former College Park mayor on child porn charges

Patrick Wojahn, 47, faces 40 counts of possession and 40 counts of intent to distribute child pornography

The Prince George's County Courthouse. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

A grand jury in Prince George’s County returned an indictment this week against former College Park mayor Patrick Wojahn on 80 counts of possession and intent to distribute child pornography.

Wojahn, 47, was arrested March 2 after a weeks-long investigation by Prince George’s County police into allegations that he had uploaded and shared dozens of pornographic videos to the social media app Kik. The videos depicted explicit sexual acts involving prepubescent boys and adult men.

Initially, authorities had charged Wojahn with 40 misdemeanor counts of possession of child pornography and 16 felony counts of intent to distribute child pornography. On Wednesday, State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) said in a news release that a grand jury had indicted the former mayor on the same 40 possession charges. Additionally, the grand jury returned 24 new counts of intent to distribute, for a total of 40 counts involving that charge.

A spokesperson for Braveboy said that each piece of evidence uncovered from the Kik account and Wojahn’s devices led to a pair of possession and intent to distribute charges.

“This is an unprecedented case in our county in which a former elected official has been accused of a crime of this nature,” Braveboy said. “We elect leaders with the expectation that they will serve, protect, and advocate for our children, families, and communities and not harm them in anyway.”

“We are continuing to cooperate with law enforcement to reach a fair resolution in this case,” Wojahn’s attorney, David Moyse, said Wednesday.

Prince George’s County police began investigating Feb. 17 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children flagged the suspicious Kik account. Investigators obtained a warrant to search Wojahn’s College Park home Feb. 28. Wojahn waived his Miranda rights and told investigators that the Kik account was his, police said in court documents. Police also said that Wojahn “advised that he has viewed and possessed files depicting child pornography,” according to court papers.

Wojahn had been mayor of College Park, home to the University of Maryland campus, for seven years and had served on the city council for eight years before that. He was an advocate for environmental and social justice issues and worked to fold U-Md. students into city business. Wojahn resigned as mayor the night before he was arrested.

“I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate, with law enforcement,” Wojahn wrote in his resignation letter in early March, which the city shared publicly. “While this investigation does not involve any official city business of any kind, it is in the best interests of our community that I step aside and not serve as a distraction.”