US Secret Service officer charged with possession of child pornography
DENTON, Md. (ABC7) — A US Secret Service Uniformed Division Officer has been arrested and is facing child pornography charges in Caroline County.
According to the Maryland State Police, Jeffrey Litteral, 52, was arrested Tuesday evening at his home in Denton.
In 2017, an investigator with the Criminal Enforcement Division of the Maryland State Police initially received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child pornography potentially being uploaded on the Internet, a press release states. After confirming the material was indeed child pornography, the investigator launched an investigation into finding its source.
The investigation led to Litteral, who is employed by the US Secret Service. US Secret Service officials, along with the Caroline County State's Attorney's Office, assisted the Maryland State Police during their investigation and subsequent arrest of Litteral.
Litteral has been charged with possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, possession of obscene material and distribution of obscene material.
Electronic equipment that was recovered from Litteral's home Tuesday night during his arrest will be forensically examined, police confirm.
On Wednesday, Litteral had an initial appearance before a court commissioner. He is currently being held without bond.
The US Secret Service released a statement following Litteral's arrest.
They say Litteral's security clearance has been suspended and he has been placed on administrative leave.
Read their statement in full below:
"The Secret Service is aware of the allegations resulting in the arrest of an employee. We take allegations of potential criminal activity seriously. The employee’s security clearance has been suspended and the employee has been placed on administrative leave. All Secret Service issued equipment has been retrieved and the employee’s access to all Secret Service facilities is terminated. These allegations, if proven true, are intolerable and are condemned by the Secret Service. Our agency has a longstanding partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that dates back to 1994. As part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, the Secret Service provides forensic and technical assistance in cases involving missing and exploited children. The Secret Service offers assistance to federal, state, local law enforcement agencies, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to aid in their investigations. In addition, the U. S. Secret Service Forensic Services Division (FSD), created the Forensic Investigative Response and Support Team (FIRST) to provide forensic support to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), local and State law enforcement officials. Officials from our agency assisted the Maryland State Police during this investigation and arrest and will continue to do so.” The Maryland State Police is the lead investigative agency in this case. All further inquiries regarding this case should be made to their Office of Public Information."
