CHP sergeant accused of down­loading child porn on the job

A California Highway Patrol sergeant allegedly downloaded child pornography on a laptop while he was working off duty and on duty near WiFi locations in Suisun, Fairfield and Vacaville, a Vacaville police sergeant said.

The child pornography allegedly downloaded by CHP Sgt. Eric Lund showed pre-pubescent children having sex acts with adults, police Lt. Matt Lydon said. Lund, 49, of Chico, was arrested at 9 p.m. Thursday on 21 felony charges of sending or selling obscene matter depicting a minor and on misdemeanor charges of possessing obscene matter of a minor in a sexual act, Vacaville police said.

Vacaville police met Lund at the CHP’s Fairfield office and served a warrant to search an external hard drive found in his personal vehicle, Lydon said. The hard drive contained multiple downloaded child pornography images, Lydon said.

Lund posted $115,000 bail around 3:30 a.m. today and was released from the Solano County jail, Lydon said. Lydon said it’s not known how long Lund allegedly was downloading child pornography, but police began an investigation in August when software they were monitoring indicated someone was downloading pornography. Police were then able to determine the identity of the suspect.

Lund has worked out of the CHP Office in Fairfield for the past year. He has been with the CHP for 26 years and worked in Chico before his assignment to Fairfield, according to Diana McDermott, the CHP’s Golden Gate Division Commander.

McDermott said Lund was placed on administrative leave and has been stripped of his police powers. The CHP is investigating the incident with Vacaville police and conducting an administrative investigation of the allegations, McDermott said:

“I want to emphasize to the public that the alleged conduct of this employee does not reflect the values, hard work, dedication and professionalism of the CHP and all of its more that 11,000 employees who proudly work each day to provide the best in safety, service and security to the people of California.”