Patrick Wojahn use to be the Mayor of College Park Maryland that is until he was arrested for possession of child pornography which not only comes with its own steep penalties it also led to him resigning. According to police reports Patrick Wojahn became a suspect after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children altered police that someone in the county was distributing child pornography through a social media account. After an investigation Patrick Wojahn would be arrested and has been charged with 56 counts related to child pornography. 40 counts of Possession of Child Exploitative Material and 16 counts of Distribution of Child Exploitative Material.
Needless to say when the news broke that the Mayor of College Park had been arrested it caused quite a stir and soon after Patrick Wojahn would formally resign from the position.
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Patrick Wojahn, the mayor of College Park, Maryland, was arrested Thursday morning on charges of possession and distribution of child sex abuse material, Prince George’s County Police said.
Wojahn, 47, has resigned from his position as mayor, according to a news release from the city.
“Last night, after business hours, Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn submitted his letter of resignation as Mayor of the City of College Park, effective immediately on March 2,” the release said. “Mayor Wojahn has served in this position since 2015 and on Council since 2007.”
News4’s Tracee Wilkins broke the story on Twitter Thursday morning.
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#Breaking: College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn is being investigated for possession and distribution of child pornography after a search warrant was issued according to sources close to this investigation, he is now in police custody. pic.twitter.com/LyHfKjLA4D— Tracee Wilkins (@TraceeWilkins) March 2, 2023
According to a news release from Prince George’s County police, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified police of a suspicious social media account operating in the county on Feb. 17.
“The image and videos,” which the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children believed to be child sex abuse material, “had been uploaded to the social media account in January of 2023,” the release said. “Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered the social media account belonged to Wojahn.”
Police served a search warrant on Wojahn’s home Tuesday and found “multiple cell phones, a storage device, a tablet and a computer,” the release said.
Wojahn was taken into custody Thursday morning and was “charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material,” police said.
The investigation is still ongoing, police said.
It is unclear if Wojahn has an attorney.
The City of College Park posted a link to Wojahn’s resignation letter on the same webpage as their official release.
“While this investigation does not involve any official city business of any kind, it is in the best interests of our community that I step aside and not serve as a distraction,” Wojahn said in the letter, dated March 2.
College Park will hold a special election within 65 days to elect a new mayor. Until then, “Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell will serve as presiding officer” of the city.