By
Mark Gomez
Mountain View police Officer Kevin Nguyen,
36, was arrested May
SAN
JOSE -- A 36-year-old Mountain View police officer renowned in the Bay Area for
his lifelike sketches was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony possession
and distribution of child pornography.
Officer
Kevin Nguyen, a 7-year veteran, was placed on paid administrative leave
following the arrest, according to Sgt. Saul Jaeger, a spokesman for Mountain
View police.
San
Jose police released scant details about the investigation and arrest but did
say detectives located child pornography on a computer belonging to Nguyen at a
residence in San Jose.
Detectives
arrested Nguyen at the Mountain View Police Department on Tuesday afternoon
after executing a search warrant at his San Jose home, Jaeger said. The arrest
followed an investigation by San Jose police and the Internet Crimes Against
Children task force.
Wednesday,
the Mountain View Police Department issued a news release regarding the arrest
of one of its own. Chief Scott S.G. Vermeer also posted on Facebook an open
letter to the community regarding the arrest of Nguyen.
"We
like to take an approach both internally and with the public of honesty and
transparency," Vermeer said in a telephone interview. "We're
incredibly disappointed and saddened by these types of allegations. Any arrest
of a police officer is extremely troubling. When the allegation is of this
nature, it's even more exaggerated in how troubling it is."
Nguyen
worked as a patrol officer for the Mountain View police but also served as a
sketch artist, Vermeer said. Nguyen was sought by other Bay Area law
enforcement agencies to draw sketches of suspects
"He
was used regionally based on his talent and expertise as a sketch artist,"
Vermeer said.
Nguyen
also volunteered in the community and was part of a youth mentoring group
through the police activities league. As part of that, Nguyen taught an art
class to students in the group.
Vermeer
said he does not have any information about the allegations against Nguyen
other than what has been made public by San Jose police. Vermeer said Mountain
View police internal affairs investigators have launched an internal
investigation.
Anyone
with information about this case is asked to contact detective Pierce of the
San Jose Police Department's child exploitation detail at 408-537-1381.