VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — An officer with the Virginia Port Authority is facing charges of child pornography will stay behind bars for the time being.
A judge denied bond for 51-year-old John Princeton after he was arrested.
According to a newly unsealed search warrant, Virginia Beach police say they caught him after he was talking to an undercover agent whom he thought was a child.
Court documents allege Princeton was possessing and distributing child pornography for about a year before he was arrested. Documents show this happened primarily through file sharing on computers.
A search warrant of Princeton’s house from February 2018 shows 24 items were seized from the Virginia Beach home.
According to documents, items include several laptops and tablets, CDs, cell phones, hard drives, VHS tapes, several cameras including a Sony camcorder. Court documents allege Princeton viewed child pornography involving children as young as 3 years old, and one of the instances involved a dog.
The Port of Virginia put him on unpaid administrative leave while they investigate the case internally.
10 On Your Side has learned that Princeton spent nearly two decades as a Portsmouth police detective.
