Ex-Lake Forest official accused of possessing child pornography
A former Lake Forest planning commissioner was arrested after authorities found 160 child pornography videos on his home computer, police announced Monday.
Jerry J. Zechmeister, 61, of Lake Forest, was taken into custody Thursday by the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force, according to a joint statement with the Newport Police Department.
Investigators searched his home in October 2013 and seized three computers and two external hard drives. A forensic examination of the electronics revealed that Zechmeister had been accessing and sharing child pornography videos for seven years, authorities said.
Zechmeister’s case was referred to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
He is scheduled to appear July 31 for his arraignment.
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