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Ex-Durham Police Employee Was Investigated for Child Porn
The coordinator for Durham's Project Safe Neighborhoods admitted to downloading child porn several times, according to a search warrant recently released.
Posted — UpdatedDURHAM, N.C. — A former Durham Police Department employee was under investigation for child pornography while he was working for the agency, according to a previously sealed search warrant recently made public.
But he was never charged with a crime.
"The investigation has been completed, and nothing illegal was found," Durham police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said in a statement Friday.
Robert D. Faggart served since April 2003 as the coordinator of Project Safe Neighborhoods – a federally funded program run by the department to curb violent crime in the Bull City.
During a polygraph test in June, while he was applying to be a police officer, he admitted to downloading the material several times out of curiosity, the warrant says.
The revelation prompted police to launch an internal investigation in October, and authorities confiscated computers, disks and other Internet material from Faggart's home.
"There was no evidence of criminal activity, which is why the case has not been turned over for prosecution," Michael said. "No charges are anticipated."
The warrant does not state why it took police four months to launch an investigation or whether Faggart remained on active duty during that time or while he was being investigated.
Repeated calls to Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez about the investigation were not immediately returned Friday.
Faggart, who did leave the police department in November, had no comment about the case
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