WILLIAMSTON – The criminal case against a former police officer accused of possessing child pornography began after his wife found a flash drive containing photos of “a potential female engaging in sexual acts,” court records show.
A Michigan State Police investigator found that “more than three” images on the flash drive depicted “a post-pubescent teenage female engaging in sexual acts or posing in a sexual manner,” according to a document leading to the indictment.
The images were part of a known series of child sexual abuse material depicting “a confirmed young person from Great Britain,” the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said, the researcher said in the document.
Alexander Stachura, 38, was a probationary officer for Meridian Township. He was placed on leave in October after state police informed the township police department that he was under investigation, officials said. He was fired early last week, the day before he was indicted on three counts of possessing child pornography and using a computer to commit a crime.
Court records did not list an attorney for Stachura. A hearing was held on February 4 to determine whether he should stand trial on the charges.
In a news release Friday, state police said “a member of the public” contacted them with information, leading to a search of Stachura’s home in Williamston.
City Police Chief Rick Grillo said in a statement also released Friday that Stachura was immediately placed on leave after MSP contacted the department about her investigation on Oct. 29.
Grillo told the State Journal that Stachura was in his first year of employment and was considered a probationary employee. There was no evidence the alleged conduct occurred while Stachura was on duty, he said.
The state police investigator wrote in an affidavit that he found the same pornographic images on Stachura’s cellphone, which he said had been used to access them in October 2022.
Contact Ken Palmer op kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared in Lansing State Journal: Meridian Township police officer’s wife found child porn, reported him
