NC Fire Captain Sentenced On Child Pornography Charges

Posted by: Curt Varone October 16, 2017 0

A North Carolina fire captain who was caught with child pornography on his fire department computer, has been sentenced to 51 months in prison.

Aaron Lanning, 39, plead guilty last week to five counts of Third Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. WSPA.com New quoted District Attorney Greg Newman as saying: “The images portrayed young boys and girls engaged in a variety of sexual acts and lewd poses. Their ages ranged from 5 to 11. I wish I knew who produced this filth. Clearly, these kids are being abused and exploited for the gratification of sick individuals. What I saw was appalling.”

Investigators in another part of the country identified Lanning as participating in a chat room where he expressed his interest in underage children. That led federal and local law enforcement to confront Lanning and search his computer at the Fletcher Fire Department. The search found sexually explicit images of underage children.

Lanning was fired by the Fletcher Fire Department in 2014, but not indicted until May of 2015. More on the sentence.

Here is a video on his indictment in 2015.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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