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Retired Police Officer, Charged With Possessing Child Porn, Allegedly Had Inappropriate Contact With MinorCROMWELL, May 25, 2013 (The Hartford Courant - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A retired Middletown police officer, charged earlier this month with possession of child pornography, was arrested Thursday on additional charges for allegedly having inappropriate contact with a minor. Samuel DiProto, 61, of Cromwell, was charged with risk of injury to a minor, cruelty to persons, first-degree unlawful restraint and first-degree reckless endangerment, state police said. The arrest warrant for those charges was sealed. DiProto was a Middletown police officer for more than 20 years and retired in 2009, according to a police department spokesperson. The new charges are the result of a police examination of items seized from DiProto's home during a search on May 7. The state police Computer Crime Unit, while investigating the sharing of child pornography over the Internet, traced Internet activity to DiProto's residence, state police said. A search-and-seizure warrant was used to search the residence on May 7, and investigators found a desktop computer and hard drive in an office, according to a warrant filed in U.S. District Court. They also found a laptop computer in a file cabinet in the basement, next to a work bench. On the laptop, police found 20 to 40 videos and images showing child pornography, the warrant says. DiProto was arrested and charged in U.S. District Court with possession of child pornography. On Thursday, state Superior Court issued an arrest warrant for DiProto on the new charges and he was taken into custody, state police said. DiProto was held on $1 million bail and was scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Middletown on Friday. The arrest warrant for these charges was sealed, according to the court clerk's office. If convicted, DiProto faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the federal pornography charge alone. ___ (c)2013 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) Visit The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) at www.courant.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |