Birmingham Museum of Art Guard Had Child Porn Shipped to the Museum
By Kent Faulk
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A Birmingham Museum of Art security guard has been charged with receiving child pornography, which included movies and photographs shipped from a foreign country to his workplace at the museum. Investigators also found pornographic images of young boys on the home computer of the guard, who was also involved with his church's youth group, according to federal court documents. Loyd Jeffrey Hitt, 53, of Center Point, was charged with receipt of child pornography in a court document filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday afternoon. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert R. Armstrong denied bond for Hitt during a hearing Thursday at the Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse, court records show. The judge also appointed defense lawyers to represent Hitt from the Federal Public Defender's Office. A preliminary hearing, at which Hitt's detention will also be considered, is also set for Oct. 24. Efforts to reach the public defender have been unsuccessful so far today. Gail Andrews, director of the museum, said that Hitt was placed today on administrative leave without pay, according to Jefferson County Personnel Board rules. Hitt, who has been with the museum 15 years, did not have contact with children, Andrews said. The guards patrol galleries and man the entrances and exits, and monitor video surveillance cameras, she said. Visitors and staff are fully monitored, she said. "We feel like it is a very secure environment," she said. Andrews said the museum is very concerned and has been cooperating with authorities in their investigation. Museum employees at times do have personal items shipped to their workplace, "but nobody else ever sees it," Andrews said. Hitt came onto law enforcement's radar screen during an investigation of an entity in another country, according to an affidavit filed in Hitt's case by John Bailey, a U.S. Postal Inspector with the United States Postal Inspection Service in Birmingham. "This investigation revealed that Hitt ordered on multiple occasions, beginning May 16, 2009, videos and photograph collections from an entity that was based in another country," according to the affidavit. "During an investigation of that entity by U.S. and foreign law enforcement, Hitt's name was recovered from the entity's customer database, along with the titles of the previous videos and photo collections that he ordered." "These videos and photographs contain images of what law enforcement has determined to be child pornography," according to Bailey's affidavit. "They depict male children, some appearing to be under the age of 14, engaged in lewd and lascivious conduct while naked." An investigation confirmed that Hitt had the movies and photographs mailed to his workplace, the affidavit states. Federal prosecutors declined comment about the specifics of the investigation or the foreign "entity." Efforts to reach Bailey or a postal inspection service official have been unsuccessful so far. The Birmingham and Hoover police departments and the Alabama Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are involved in the investigation, according to the affidavit. During a search of Hitt's home Thursday, law enforcement recovered a number of child pornographic images from his computer, according to the affidavit. After his arrest, Hitt admitted he had purchased images and videos from the international entity and had received them at the Birmingham Museum of Art, according to the affidavit. "When asked what happened to those videos and images, Hitt stated that he destroyed them. Hitt first told investigators that he destroyed them because the 'quality' was poor. Hitt later admitted that he destroyed them because he 'felt guilty' after seeing them." Hitt also admitted to investigators in the interview that he needed help to deal with his interest in images and videos of young boys. "Hitt stated that he could not afford to get the 'help' he needed, and was also too embarrassed to seek that kind of help," according to the affidavit. "Hitt also told investigators that he was heavily involved in the youth group at his church, and that he often went on trips with the group, and sometimes visited swimming pools with the kids from his church. Hitt admitted to investigators that after today (Thursday) he would no longer be allowed to have contact with the church youth group." But Hitt denied to investigators that he had ever touched or photographed a real child. The name of the church was not identified in court records, and it is unclear if church officials have been notified of the charges against Hitt.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.