Maryland State Police have arrested a state trooper after a cooperative state and federal investigation resulted in charges of possession of child pornography against the trooper.
The trooper is identified as Trooper First Class Brian H. Murphy, 34, of Boonsboro. He is charged with ten misdemeanor counts of possession of child pornography. Murphy was arrested by State Police at his residence shortly after 9:00 p.m. Thursday without incident and taken to the Hagerstown Barracks for processing.
He will be taken before a court commissioner for a bond hearing.
At the end of April, a Maryland state trooper assigned to the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force met with an FBI special agent who provided information about an investigation originating outside the country that identified internet provider addresses in the United States that had accessed child pornography. The FBI had verified that one of those addresses was in Boonsboro and belonged to Murphy.
Further investigation by the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force and investigators from the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit and Homicide Unit led to a search warrant service at Murphy’s residence and the recovery of a computer. A forensic search of the computer by State Police investigators revealed images of child pornography stored on the computer.
Murphy has been a trooper with the Maryland State Police for seven years. He was assigned to road patrol duties at the Frederick Barracks. Murphy has been suspended from duty since May 10.
The investigation is continuing.
This activity report was provided by a Maryland law enforcement agency as a public service to the community. It is not a complete account of events, and all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in court.