California Deputy Attorney General Raymond Liddy arrested on child porn charges

A California deputy attorney general who lives in Coronado faces federal child pornography charges, according to media reports.

FBI agents arrested 53-year-old Raymond Joseph Liddy Tuesday at his home in Coronado for possession of child pornography, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. He pleaded not guilty to charges in San Diego federal court and was released to home detention with GPS monitoring on $100,000 bond, the newspaper reported.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office said in a statement Wednesday that it was aware of the charges against Liddy and that he has been placed on administrative leave.

The San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children task force began investigating the case after receiving reports from internet service providers that a user had uploaded 11 images that appeared to be child pornography. Investigators traced the uploads to Liddy’s home in Coronado, the Union-Tribune reported.

When Liddy was interviewed by FBI, he admitted downloading sexual images and using online services to share sexual fantasies, but he said most of the images were of adults, the newspaper reported, citing a federal criminal complaint. When investigators searched his home, they found numerous photographs of children engaging in sexual activity on a computer and a thumbdrive, the complaint said.

Liddy is the son of G. Gordon Liddy, a lawyer and FBI agent who was convicted of burglary, conspiracy and other charges in the Watergate scandal.