A female North Branford library employee has been arrested in Guilford and charged with possession of child pornography, according to police and officials. She has been placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues.
Guilford police said they received a tip on June 21 from an out-of-state law enforcement agency about a child pornography investigation and they started investigating with help from from the Department of Homeland Security.
On July 25, Guilford detectives, the Department of Homeland Security and the North Branford Police Department executed a search warrant in Guilford and determined that the subject of the investigation, 45-year-old Lauren Smith, was an employee of the Town of North Branford, according to Guilford police.
On Friday, police served Smith with a warrant charging her with possession of child pornography in the first degree.
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North Branford Town Manager Michael P. Downes said in a statement that the Guilford and North Branford Police Departments notified him on July 25 that Smith, a part-time library employee, was the subject of a criminal investigation they were conducting concerning the possession of child pornography.
“I immediately placed that employee on administrative leave pending the investigation, prohibiting them from returning to their place of employment. The charges are serious and distressing, as the employee was a desk worker occasionally detailed to the children’s library, though they were never involved in any children’s programming,” Downes wrote.
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He said the Guilford Police Department asked them not to notify the public until they were prepared to make their arrest so as not to jeopardize their investigation.
“We are notified that this arrest has taken place today, and so we are now making this information public at our earliest opportunity,” he wrote.
Guilford police said the investigation remains active.
North Branford Police Chief James Lovelace said in a statement, “During this executed search warrant a suspect was developed and it was learned that this suspect was employed by the Town of North Branford. Immediately following this disclosure appropriate personnel were notified to immediately begin administrative procedures. A new internal investigation was conducted concerning this employee’s access and searches related to any further evidence or crimes. The Town previously has installed safeguards to prevent or detect crimes of this nature. 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 North Branford Police department and the South Central Computer Crime team will continue to identify, investigate and prosecute any and all computer crimes, especially crimes against children. We understand how disturbing this information is to hear and read, as we too are extremely disturbed to investigate these incidents. However, we find it prudent to be transparent with our residents as we value our partnership with our community and regional partners,” Lovelace added.
Smith was released on a $100,000 bond and is due to appear in court on Monday.
