A Maryland mayor who recently visited the White House for a President Biden bill signing was busted Thursday on dozens of child porn counts, officials said.
Patrick Wojahn, mayor of College Park since 2015, abruptly resigned from his post just hours before he was taken into custody on charges that he possessed and passed around suspected child pornography on social media, police said.
The images and videos were allegedly uploaded in January, with the Prince George’s County Police Department determining the social media account belonged to the 47-year-old Democrat, cops said.
Roughly more than two months before his arrest, Wojahn and his husband were at the White House to celebrate Biden’s signing of the Respect for Marriage Act on the South Lawn, WTOP reported at the time.
A search warrant was executed on his home at the end of February, where multiple cell phones, a storage device, a tablet and computer were seized, police said.
The investigation was jump started after the National Center for Missing and Exploited children notified county police of the suspicious social media account.
Wojahn, a Democrat who served on the city council since 2007, resigned effective immediately Wednesday night after business hours, College Park city officials said in a press release.
When he won his mayoral election in 2015, he was the first openly gay man to earn the seat, NBC Washington reported then.
Wojahn, in his letter of resignation, said he’s “cooperated fully” with law enforcement and vowed to continue that cooperation. He called it a “profound honor and privilege” to serve the city for over a decade.
“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 serve as a distraction,” he wrote.
Wojahn, in the letter, did not address the allegations against him that include 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material.
“Many of you have already reached out with well wishes and thoughts, and I am eternally grateful,” Wojahn wrote. “I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health. I ask that you continue to keep me and my family in your prayer.”
The city, in announcing Wojahn’s resignation, thanked him for his years of “dedicated service.”
In another statement from the city following the arrest, officials said they were “shocked and disturbed” by the allegations.
Chief of Police Malik Aziz warned more charges could be possible against Wojahn with the probe in the early stages, WTOP reported.
A special election to replace Wojahn will be held within 65 days with another mayoral election then set for November. Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell will serve as presiding officer for the city until then, officials said.
The Maryland city is home to about 35,000 residents and is where the University of Maryland is located.
Patrick Wojahn, former College Park mayor, sentenced to 30 years in child pornography case
Mon, November 20th 2023, 2:26 PM UTC
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Patrick Wojahn, the former mayor of College Park, Md., will spend 30 years in jail after pleading guilty to child pornography
Following an 11:30 a.m. hearing in Upper Marlboro Monday morning, Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy spoke at a press conference.
"We're satisfied the mayor WoJahn understood the seriousness of his actions and wanted to take accountability," Braveboy said.
As part of the agreement, Wojahn was officially sentenced to 150 years with all but 30 years suspended.
Wojahn was arrested in March after a Prince George’s County Police Department investigation into a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that suspected child pornography had been distributed by someone in the county.
On Aug. 2, Wojahn pled guilty to 60 counts of distribution of child pornography, 40 counts of possession of child pornography, and 40 counts of possession of child pornography with the intent to distribute, according to State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.
Wojahn, who had been the College Park mayor since 2015, resigned from his post prior to his arrest in March.
According to court documents, Wojahn uploaded the suspected child pornography to the social media website KIK under the account name "skippy_md." Court documents say the NCMEC reports reveal that the child pornography was uploaded on or about Jan. 9, Jan. 10 and Jan. 11.
