BELLINGHAM,
Wash. -- A former Lynden police officer who once served as an advocate for
victims of sex crimes pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge of possessing child
pornography.
Prosecutors
say Donald Glunt had disturbing images of a 16-year-old Texas girl on his
city-owned cellphone.
Glunt
was arrested last Friday, just days after he stepped down from the Lynden
Police Department.
Detectives
say Lynden police officials discovered the child pornography images on Glunt's
cell phone while conducting an internal investigation.
Further
investigation revealed the 57-year-old had been trading images with a
16-year-old girl in Texas, troopers said. Detectives in Texas have interviewed
the teen victim and additional investigation is under way on various digital
media devices seized as evidence.
"It's
both disappointing and saddening that this man chooses to end his career in
this manner," said Lynden Police Chief Jack Foster said after the arrest.
Glunt
is now free on $10,000 bail.