U.S. Capitol Police Officer Faces Child Pornography Possession Charges

WASHINGTON, DC — Maryland State Police arrested an officer with the U.S. Capitol Police at his home in Calvert County, Maryland, early Monday morning on charges of possession of child pornography, according to police.

The Maryland State Police charged Jared Michael Lemon, 42, of Owings, Maryland, with five counts of possession of child pornography, police said. He has been with the U.S. Capitol Police since 2005 and served with the agency’s Uniformed Services Bureau.

Lemon was arrested without incident Monday morning and taken to the Calvert County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond, the Maryland State Police said.

The U.S. Capitol Police said they learned about an investigation last December into Lemon by computer crimes investigators with the Maryland State Police and immediately revoked his police powers. While the Maryland State Police investigated the allegations against Lemon, the U.S. Capitol Police said they reassigned him to administrative duties where he would not interact with the public.

After Monday's arrest, Lemon is now suspended from the U.S. Capitol Police force pending the outcome of the criminal case. The U.S. Capitol Police said its Office of Professional Responsibility will start an administrative investigation at the end of the criminal case in Maryland.

The investigation into Lemon began in late 2022 when the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an online user, later identified as Lemon, had uploaded suspected child pornography, according to the Maryland State Police. After launching the investigation, the Maryland State Police learned that Lemon was an officer with the U.S. Capitol Police.

Members of the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit, with help from troopers from the Prince Frederick Barrack and Homeland Security Investigations, searched Lemon’s home last December. Investigators seized electronic devices for forensic analysis. The analysis revealed evidence of possession of child pornography, police said.

The arrest of Lemon on child pornography possession charges came only days after a Maryland State Trooper was charged with possession of child pornography. On Friday, the Maryland State Police said Christopher Black Sr., 48, of Elkton, Maryland, had been charged with six counts of possession of child pornography.

Black is employed as a sergeant and assigned to the North East Barrack. He is a 21-and-a-half-year veteran of the Maryland State Police. Black’s police powers have been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.