Fire cop's bond set in 'Net porn case

August 17, 2000

Fire cop's bond set in 'Net porn case

By MARLO BARNHART / Staff Writer

Bond remained at $100,000 Thursday for a former Washington County fire police officer charged with solicitation of minors for sex acts and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

Warren Van Conway, 61, of the 200 block of East Poplar Street in Funkstown, appeared before Washington County District Judge Noel Spence for a bond review.

Assistant Washington County State's Attorney Arthur Rozes argued for the bond to remain high, saying Conway would be a danger to young people if he were freed.

Conway was charged Tuesday with solicitation of a minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual contact, possession of pornography, distribution of child pornography and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to court records.

A member of the Mount Aetna Fire Department, Conway has been a fire police officer for more than 10 years, according to Mount Aetna Chief Terry Stouffer.

He has been suspended from duty because of the charges.

"I am retired military, church-going family man, and gainfully employed," Conway said Thursday from the detention center during his videotaped bond review.

On Aug. 14, a woman told Maryland State Police her 16-year-old son was approached by a man who wanted to take a picture of him engaging in a sex act with a female juvenile.

The boy refused, police said.

While a police investigator was at the teen's home Monday evening, Conway contacted the boy by computer, police alleged.

During a conversation on the Internet, a pornographic picture of the female juvenile was e-mailed to the boy, police said.

Conway was arrested Tuesday evening at his place of employment and taken to his home, where investigators executed a search warrant.

Troopers from the computer crimes unit and Hagerstown Barracks recovered a computer, floppy disks, diaries, printed photos of adult and child pornography, videotapes and other materials, according to court records.

Conway said he would get a public defender to represent him at a preliminary hearing, which he requested.

|

|

|