College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn was arrested Thursday and charged with the possession of child pornography.
The Democrat mayor of the Maryland city resigned in disgrace shortly before the shocking arrest was revealed.
Wojahn, 47, is charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material.
The city said in a statement: “Last night, after business hours, Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn submitted his letter of resignation as Mayor of the City of College Park, effective immediately on March 2.
“Mayor Wojahn has served in this position since 2015 and on Council since 2007.
“The City of College Park thanks Mayor Wojahn for his many years of dedicated service.
“Effective immediately, Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell will serve as presiding officer until a Special Election is held and a new Mayor has been sworn in.
“Per the City Charter, a Special Election must be held within 65 days.
“The City’s Board of Election Supervisors will convene to schedule the date of the Special Election.”
Wojahn said in his resignation letter:
“It has been a profound honor and privilege to serve the city of College Park since 2007 as a city councilmember and your mayor.
“However, effective immediately, I must resign my position.
“On February 28, 2023, a search warrant was executed on my residence as part of an ongoing police investigation.
“I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate, with law enforcement.
“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.”
Wojahn failed to mention in his letter that he was being investigated for child sex offenses, however.
And the Coty of College Park has released its own statement on the resignation of Mayor Patrick Wojahn pic.twitter.com/ivJSvpov9j
— Brad Bell (@Brad7News) March 2, 2023
The Mayor of College Park, MD, Patrick Wojahn, was arrested this morning and charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material, according to @PGPDNews. pic.twitter.com/0VVClKQDYg
— Gary Grumbach (@GaryGrumbach) March 2, 2023
Zero mention in the entire story of his party affiliation when a Democrat mayor is arrested for child porn.
Right there in the headline when it’s a “former Republican staffer.” pic.twitter.com/paC1rXzEJn
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 2, 2023
According to NBC:
The criminal investigation began on Feb. 17 when the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children alerted local police that a social media account operating in Prince George’s County possessed and distributed child pornography, police said.
“The image and videos had been uploaded to the social media account in January of 2023. Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered the social media account belonged to Wojahn,” police said.
While executing a search warrant Tuesday at Wojahn’s home, investigators recovered multiple cell phones, a storage device, a tablet, and a computer, police said.
Wojahn was arrested early Thursday morning, police said.
READ MORE: Star ABC News Producer Arrested on Child Porn Charges Months after FBI Raid
