Granby Police Capt. David Bourque was arrested Tuesday on a federal charge of possession of child pornography after investigators found thousands of sexually explicit images of children on a computer hard drive that he owns, according to the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.
Bourque was place on administrative leave two weeks ago, after Connecticut State Police searched his office and computers at the Granby Police Department.
In that search, state police seized a laptop and other computer components, including an external hard drive, that were personally owned by Bourque. State police also executed a search warrant at Bourque’s home in Suffield.
According to a press release from U.S. Attorney David B. Fein, the investigation into Bourque began when a trooper working undercover for the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit logged into an Internet file-sharing network in March and downloaded several images of suspected child pornography from an account later traced to Bourque's home in Suffield.
Shortly after his home and office were searched, Bourque was taken to a hospital and admitted to intensive care, according to an arrest warrant affidavit written by State Trooper Jonathan Carreiro. On April 20, the affidavit said, Bourque met with state police and the FBI and voluntarily provided passwords to his accounts.
Carreiro wrote that a hard drive seized from Bourque's office contained "thousands and thousands — perhaps as many as 100,000 — images and videos of child pornography, mostly depicting young boys." Some showed infants being molested by men.
Bourque surrendered Tuesday to law enforcement officials and appeared before Judge Thomas P. Smith in U.S. District Court in Hartford. Bourque and his wife co-signed a $150,000 bond and Bourque was directed by the judge to return to a hospital where he has been receiving medical treatment.
Following his health care treatment, Bourque will be subject to several conditions of release. He must receive mental health counseling, have no Internet access, and have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18 without first receiving permission from the United States Probation Office. Bourque is not allowed to hold any position of authority or guidance over children or youth groups involving children who are under the age of 18, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
If convicted of the charge of possession of child pornography, Bourque faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
Bourque has served with the Granby Police Department for the past 18 months after he retired from his position as a captain with the Suffield Police Department after 30 years, Granby Town Manager William Smith said earlier this month.
