By Jeff Munson, CarsonNow.org
A South Lake Tahoe fire captain has been arrested and is on paid administrative leave resulting from a federal criminal investigation into him allegedly receiving child pornography.
South Lake Tahoe Fire Captain Mark Wygant was arrested Thursday and placed on paid administrative leave, said City Manager Nancy Kerry. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of California, he faces a federal felony charge of receiving child pornography. He appeared in the federal courthouse in Sacramento on Friday afternoon and remains in custody, said attorney’s office spokeswoman Lauren Horwood. Wygant’s next court date is Feb. 13.
When South Lake Tahoe city officials first received an internal tip of a potential crime regarding a city employee, the city worked aggressively and collaboratively with federal and local law enforcement agencies to fully investigate the allegations, said Kerry.
“I want to commend the Fire Chief, Police Chief, investigative team and the South Lake Tahoe office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their cooperation and professionalism in this matter,” she said. “The type of conduct as alleged in the FBI’s affidavit is unacceptable for any public employee; it will not be tolerated and will be aggressively investigated. This alleged conduct is in complete contrast to standards and expectations we have for City employees and is not representative of the caliber and professionalism of the South Lake Tahoe public safety employees who continue to serve the public with honor every day.”
As this matter is an ongoing federal investigation any further inquiries are to be directed to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.