College Park, Maryland, Mayor Patrick Wojahn was arrested on Thursday for possession of child pornography.
Wojahn, 47, had been mayor of College Park and served on the City Council for eight years before that. He was charged with 56 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography.
Patrick Wojahn, the first openly gay mayor of College Park, MD—who was also a regular White House guest and Pete Buttigieg "mentee"—has just been arrested on 56 counts of child porn. pic.twitter.com/ySOtwS3XP7
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 3, 2023
“Wojahn is charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material. He is in the custody of the Department of Corrections,” the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) wrote in a press release.
Prosecutors have charged Wojahn with uploading and sharing dozens of recordings depicting explicit sexual actions between prepubescent boys and adult men on the social networking app Kik in early January.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children flagged the suspicious Kik account to the Prince George’s County police on Feb. 17, and investigators were able to inspect Wojahn’s College Park house thanks to a search warrant they had secured on Feb. 28.
During that search, Wojahn surrendered his Miranda rights and admitted to being the owner of the Kik account. Police said that Wojahn “advised that he has viewed and possessed files depicting child pornography,” according to court papers.
“We send a clear message to anyone involved in this type of material that units like this are looking, they’re working every day to make sure that we have a safe county and a safe state,” said PGPD Chief Malik Aziz during a press conference.
The news of Wojahn’s arrest shocked College Park residents and local lawmakers who had worked with him for years. During his time in office, the Democratic mayor advanced liberal policies and integrated young voices from the community and university into the city’s urban planning efforts.
He also advocated for development that would attract businesses and residents, delivering on many campaign promises about building up the city. Wojahn was instrumental in bringing College Park’s first WeWork to Maryland, as well as a brand-new hotel and the now-defunct MilkBoy ArtHouse.
“I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate, with law enforcement,” Wojahn wrote in his resignation letter. “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.”
