A former Manassas, Virginia, police officer has pleaded guilty to 15 counts of possessing child pornography.
Wayne Carlo Bombara Jr., 47, of Manassas Park, uploaded and saved about 150 images “depicting the sexual exploitation of minor females,” according to a statement from the Virginia Attorney General’s Office.
A search of his electronic devices found child porn activity dating back to 2011, it said.
Bombara was a sergeant with the Manassas City Police Department at the time of the crimes.
Authorities said that the pornography recovered in the investigation involved children who have been identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as abuse victims in earlier investigations.
“Any individual who robs children of their innocence through child pornography, regardless of what they do for a living, must be held accountable for committing these heinous crimes, but especially when that individual is a law enforcement officer who has sworn to protect his community,” Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement.
Virginia State Police worked the case, in cooperation with the Northern Virginia – D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
As part of Bombara’s plea in Prince William County Circuit Court, he must register as a sex offender after his release from prison.
Bombara is scheduled to be sentenced in February.
