Employee accused of having child porn denies charges

By Kevin Bogardus | 06/09/2016 01:07 PM EDT

A U.S. EPA employee alleged to have had child pornography at work said today he is innocent of the charges.

A U.S. EPA employee alleged to have had child pornography at work said today he is innocent of the charges.

Floyd O’Hara, an information security officer for the agency’s Region 5 branch based in Chicago, denied possessing child porn.

"I am not guilty. I did not possess child porn. I am not into that," O’Hara told Greenwire in an interview.

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O’Hara, 61, was arrested Monday by police and accused of possession of child porn. The Naperville, Ill., resident said he was assisting with an EPA inspector general investigation that was looking into who was using an EPA Region 5 computer network to download child porn.

O’Hara said an EPA IG officer contacted him in early March and asked for his help. He added that his supervisor gave him a budget to buy equipment and use software to monitor the EPA computer network that was suspected of downloading child porn.

"They turned around and they pinned it on me," O’Hara said.

O’Hara said he is now on annual leave, or vacation, from EPA. His case has grabbed the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have long been critical of the agency for its handling of employee misconduct.

In a statement yesterday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the allegations against O’Hara, if true, are "truly staggering" and are indicative of problems at the Region 5 office and the agency as a whole.

"Child pornography is as disgusting and as vile as it gets," Chaffetz said. "Yet, astoundingly, this is not even the first EPA Region 5 employee to face similar charges. The problems at EPA Region 5 persist and worsen with each account. It is deplorable for an agency to have sunk to such toxic levels. Leadership from the very top is needed to restore the integrity of this office."

Chaffetz’s committee has been investigating EPA for various incidents of employee misbehavior over the past year and even has delved into sexual harassment allegations from the Region 5 branch (Greenwire, July 29, 2015). O’Hara said he was "completely shocked" that his arrest has come under the panel chairman’s scrutiny.

O’Hara said he has worked for EPA for 29 years and served in the Air Force. Married with children, the agency employee said the allegations of child porn have been tough to bear.

"It’s ruining my life for something I didn’t do," O’Hara said. "I feel so bad for my kids."

After his initial interview with Greenwire, O’Hara said he wanted to retract his comments on the advice of his lawyer.

O’Hara’s case is under investigation from the EPA IG. A spokesman for the agency watchdog said he could not comment on the case.

"There is an ongoing OIG investigation of these allegations, so I can’t comment further on this case," said Jeff Lagda.

EPA is working with the inspector general as well as law enforcement on the investigation, according to an EPA spokeswoman.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is fully coordinating with the Office of Inspector General and law enforcement in the ongoing investigation into allegations of criminal activity by an employee at the agency’s regional office in Chicago. EPA has no further comment at this time," said Melissa Harrison, an EPA spokeswoman.