CHILD PORN: Maryland State Police Arrested Capitol Police Officer Jared Lemon on Child Pornography Charges After Cyber Tip
OWINGS, MD – Maryland State Police computer crimes investigators have charged a United States Capitol Police Officer with the possession of child pornography.
The Maryland State Police identified the suspect as Jared Michael Lemon, 42 (DOB 11/24/1980) of 8831 Lafayette Drive, Owings, Maryland.
Maryland State Police Detective K. Stull charged Lemon with five counts of possession of child pornography on a warrant issued on July 6, 2023. He was arrested by Maryland State Police shortly before 5 a.m. on July 10, 2023, without incident and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond by order of Judge Michelle R. Saunders in Calvert District Court.
A bail review is set for July 11, 2023, in Calvert District Court, with a preliminary hearing set for August 30, 2023.
During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Lemon is employed as an officer with the U.S. Capitol Police Department.
On July 10, 2023, the United States Capitol Police posted the following statement on their website:
Maryland State Police (MSP) charged United States Capitol Police (USCP) Officer Jared M. Lemon with 5 counts of Possession of Child Pornography. MSP arrested the 42-year-old outside of his Maryland home just before 5:00 a.m.
The USCP learned about the investigation in December of 2022 and immediately revoked the officer’s police powers and, while MSP was investigating the allegations, reassigned him to administrative duties where he would not interact with the public.
Lemon will be suspended pending the outcome of the criminal case. He has been with the USCP since 2005 and served with the Uniformed Services Bureau.
The USCP’s Office of Professional Responsibility will start an administrative investigation after the conclusion of the criminal case, which is being investigated by the Maryland State Police.
The investigation began in December 2022 when troopers from the Maryland State Police Prince Frederick Barrack initiated an investigation into the possession of child pornography. The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force also received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an online user, later identified as Lemon, had uploaded suspected child pornography.
Members of the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit, with assistance from troopers from Prince Frederick Barrack and Homeland Security Investigations, served a search warrant of Lemon’s residence in December 2022. Investigators subsequently seized electronic devices for forensic analysis. The analysis revealed evidence of possession of child pornography.
The Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit coordinates the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. This is a combined law enforcement effort involving police departments across Maryland that is made possible in part due to grant funds provided by the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services and by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Task Force investigators focus on identifying those involved in child pornography via the Internet and other related crimes that victimize children.
On February 3, 2020, Sarah Lemon sought a divorce from Jared Lemon, with a judgment for Absolute Divorce ordered on May 13, 2020. Court records show that a hearing was scheduled for August 10, 2023, before Calvert County Circuit Court Judge Mark W. Carmean for modification of child support. An order granting Lemon temporary custody of the couple’s children was stricken on March 1, 2023.
