LONG BEACH, Calif. - A former veteran Long Beach Police Department officer was sentenced Monday to nearly six years behind bars for distributing sexually explicit images of underage girls.
Anthony Brown, 58, was placed on lifetime supervised release and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine, along with a 70-month term in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Brown pleaded guilty in March to one federal count of distribution of child pornography, admitting that he used the MeWe internet messaging application to share the sexually explicit images with others in 2019 and 2020. He was also accused of possessing a sexually explicit image of a girl under 12 years old, according to documents filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Brown had been with LBPD for 27 years but left the force in April 2021 following his arrest on state charges. Those charges were dismissed when federal prosecutors took up the case.
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Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish said in March 2021 after Brown's arrest that his actions "do not represent the professionalism and commitment that all of our employees show every day while protecting our community."
"When the actions of an individual employee erode the values of our organization and the public trust all of us have worked so hard to cultivate, they must be held accountable," he said, adding that, "protecting children is one of our most sacred responsibilities."
Brown was last assigned to a security detail at the Long Beach Airport.