A former Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper has been acquitted of multiple charges accusing him of downloading and viewing child pornography.
Anthony Pagan, 24, had been charged with multiple counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
Licking County Common Pleas Court Judge David Branstool found Pagan not guilty on Sept. 3 of all charges after a one-day bench trial.
Court records said Pagan was accused of having four images of child pornography on his electronic devices. The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force had gotten a tip about the download in August 2024 and by December 2024, the account that did the download was linked to Pagan.
At the time, Pagan worked as an Ohio Highway Patrol trooper working at the Granville post in Licking
County.
Sam Shamansky, Pagan's defense attorney, said the investigation determined Pagan had downloaded a large file containing more than 2,700 images of pornography. Four of the 2,700 images were flagged as being child pornography and there was no evidence that Pagan viewed those images.
Detectives were able to find evidence that Pagan viewed other images within the downloaded file, Shamansky said, so if Pagan had viewed the child pornography it could be confirmed.
Pagan lost his job with the Highway Patrol after his arrest in December 2024.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Ohio Highway Patrol trooper found not guilty of child porn charges
