A former police chief in East Helena was sentenced to five years and six months for distributing child pornography via social media.
William Daly Harrington, 43, of Helena, Mont., pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2021, according to a June 16 Department of Justice news release. In addition to jail time, Harrington must pay $7,500 in fines and undergo five years of supervised release after serving his sentence.
“As a career police officer and then as chief of police, Harrington had a duty to protect children, and yet he distributed child pornography. His actions perpetuated the sexual exploitation of children and harm inflicted on vulnerable victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich, according to the release. “This sentence holds Harrington accountable not only for his criminal conduct, but also for his breach of the public’s trust. I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyndee L. Peterson and Wendy A. Johnson and all of our law enforcement partners for their work on this case.”
The release reported Harrington shared the child pornography over Facebook Messenger. Records indicated Harrington sent 11 images, some of which contained child pornography, Nov. 17, 2019.
"Crimes against children are horrific, and this case was aggravated by the fact that William Harrington took an oath to protect and serve," Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Dennis Rice said in the release. "The FBI is committed to protecting society's most vulnerable and will hold those who prey on innocent children accountable."
