The Associated Press
GREENSBORO, N.C.- Federal and state authorities arrested a small-town police chief Thursday on felony child pornography charges.
Landis Police Chief Charles Childers, 50, was arrested without incident at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, according to a news release.
The criminal complaint against Childers said he used the Internet to distribute child pornography across state lines and to coerce, induce and entice a person he believed to be an underage girl to engage in sexual activity. The person actually was an undercover agent with the Michigan attorney general’s office, authorities said.
He was being held at least until a detention hearing next week.
Childers faces five to 30 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000 or both, as well as lifelong supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the States Postal Inspection Service and the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation. It was initiated by the Michigan attorney general’s office.