Former Emmy-winning ABC News journalist James Gordon Meek pleaded guilty to child pornography charges today. The 53-year-old producer and investigative reporter admitted he had exchanged "dozens of images and at least eight videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct," according to The Washington Post.
An investigation into Meek began last year when Dropbox became suspicious of explicit images being shared on its file-sharing app and tipped off authorities. When the FBI investigated his Arlington apartment, Meek complied and admitted to his unsavory interest, telling agents he had shared illegal images of minors with at least two other people. He immediately resigned from his job at the news network.
From The Washington Post:
A former national security journalist for ABC News pleaded guilty to child pornography offenses Friday, and the federal prosecutor whose office handled the matter issued a rebuke of media reports last year that implied the reporter was being targeted in connection with his news gathering. …
After the hearing, the U.S. attorney in Virginia whose office handled the case released a statement criticizing reports published last year that implied Meek was being investigated for obtaining classified information during his news gathering activities.
The first such report came from Rolling Stone, which detailed the search of Meek's home and discussed his work extensively. Rolling Stone cited anonymous sources in reporting that investigators "allegedly found classified information on Meek's laptop during their raid," adding that it was possibly the first law enforcement search "to be carried out on a journalist by the Biden administration." …
But the Meek case was never about his reporting, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber said in a statement. In court filings and hearings in the case this year, the subject of classified information was not raised. The Justice Department policy barring searches of reporters' records has exceptions for conduct that does not involve newsgathering.
"This case was never about the government threatening the First Amendment, because this District and the Department of Justice make every effort to protect the freedom of the press," Aber said in response to a question about the Rolling Stone report. "This investigation was always about protecting children from sexual abuse."
Meek will be sentenced in September and faces 5–40 years in prison.
