Lauren Smith, a 45-year-old library staff member from North Branford, Connecticut who resides in Guilford, faces charges of possessing child pornography after police executed a search warrant at her home. The investigation started when officials got a tip in June from an out-of-state law enforcement agency, reports WTNH Hartford.
Following this, detectives served the search warrant in July. When they learned about her employment with North Branford, Guilford officials told the town, causing police to stop her from returning to work amid the investigation. An arrest warrant was issued on Friday, and she was charged with first-degree possession of child pornography. She was released on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
“The Town previously has installed safeguards to prevent or detect crimes of this nature,”
said the town in a penned statement from Police Chief James Lovelace and Town Manager Michael Downes.
“As of this time, we have not located any violations as it relates to the time this individual was accessing Town databases or internet services,”
the written statement added.
Smith worked part-time at the library as a desk worker and sometimes helped in the children’s library, but officials stated she wasn’t a part of any children’s programming.
“The Guilford Police Department asked us not to notify the public until they were prepared to make their arrest, so as not to jeopardize their investigation, which is standard operating procedure,”
said Downes in the statement.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
