Maryland Mayor Resigns After Being Arrested for Possessing Child Pornography

College Park, Maryland Mayor Patrick Wojahn in a mugshot. Prince George’s County Police Department via The Epoch Times

A mayor in Maryland announced his resignation on March 2, after being charged with 56 counts of child pornography possession and distribution.

“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 not serve as a distraction,” Democrat College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn said in his resignation letter.

Wojahn, 47, also cited a desire “to deal with my own mental health.”

Prince George’s County Police Department detectives serving a search warrant at Wojahn’s home on Feb. 28 recovered cellphones, a tablet, a computer, and a storage device, according to the department. After reviewing the devices, they arrested Wojahn on 40 counts of child porn possession and 16 counts of distributing child exploitative material.

More charges could come in the future, officials said. Wojahn’s husband has not been charged.

Investigation

The warrant was executed after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent a tip about a social media account operating in Prince George’s County that possessed and distributed suspected child porn in January.

An investigation found that Wojahn controlled the Kik account, which had the name skippy_md, according to charging documents reviewed by The Epoch Times.

Under subpoenas, Yahoo provided information on the Yahoo email address associated with the account and Kik provided investigators with explicit profile images associated with the account. The same images were found when the search warrant was executed. Furthermore, the shoes depicted in one photograph were found in the home and unique features from the pictures were “found to be a match to the Defendant’s kitchen and bedroom, respectively,” the documents stated. Kik also provided child porn images associated with the account.

Speaking to detectives, Wojahn admitted that the account was his and that he has possessed and may have distributed child porn, according to the charging documents.

“He advised that he has viewed and possessed files depicting child pornography,” authorities wrote. “He also indicated that when viewing these files, he ’may have passed it on,' indicating he has distributed files depicting child pornography to other persons.”

Authorities provided detailed descriptions of each picture and video they found in their investigation. They are still working on identifying the minors who are depicted.

‘A Total Surprise’

Wojahn became mayor in 2015. He won election with 1,236 votes and reelection with 1,568 votes. He was on the City Council from 2007 to 2015.

Wojahn and his husband sued to remove the ban on gay marriage in Maryland in 2004.

He has been to the White House on multiple occasions, including when President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act.

Wojahn has described Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttieg as a mentor.

College Park officials said in a statement they were “shocked and disturbed” by the charges, describing them as “a total surprise to us.”

After Wojahn resigned, the city thanked the mayor “for his many years of dedicated service” and said that Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell would replace him until a special election is held.

The special election date has not yet been set but it must be held within 65 days per city rules.

“Today has been a very difficult day for the residents, staff and elected officials in College Park. Like our community, we are shocked and disturbed by the arrest and charges filed against the former mayor. As this is an on-going and active investigation, the City will respect the judicial process and cooperate fully with the investigation,” Mitchell said in a statement.

“While we continue to process everything that has happened today, City services and work cannot and will not stop. It is vital for our community and our residents to know that City services will continue to operate, uninterrupted,” she added.

College Park, with about 35,000 residents, encompasses the University of Maryland campus. It is about a 35-minute drive north from Washington, D.C.

‘Shocks the Mind’

Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz told a briefing that the charges show that child porn crimes will not be tolerated.

“We send a clear message to anyone involved in this type of material that units like this are looking, they’re working every day to make sure that we have a safe county and a safe state,” he said.

Aziz said what happened “shocks the mind, shocks the value and the consciousness and honor of any person who considers themselves to be trustworthy to hold office or hold a position in society.”

When people are entrusted to hold office, elected by citizens, then it is disturbing when they betray that trust, Aziz added.

The police chief said that people who are struggling, including people who are involved in criminal acts, should seek help “before it escalates or goes into another zone that would be more disturbing.”

Prince George’s law enforcement made 18 arrests involving child abuse crimes in 2022, after receiving more than 1,000 cyber tips, officials said.