45-year-old John Trevarthen of Lombard, Illinois is a police commander in the Illinois village of Bellwood. I say is because as of the last report, he had been placed on ‘administrative leave’ while the investigation continues. No word on if that leave is with or without pay.
Anyway, Trevarthen has been arrested by the Lombard police for allegedly using the mobile messaging app Kik to view child porn. In case you didn’t know, Kik is a platform that is often used by sex offenders, pedophiles, child porn collectors, and child traffickers.
Lombard police received a tip from the NCMEC that a Lombard resident was reportedly using Kik to share child porn. According to Lombard police, not only was Trevarthen accessing Kik from his home, but he was also said to be accessing Kik using an IP address owned by the village of Bellwood.
Trevarthen was released after posting 10% of a $150,000 bond.
Is it any wonder that there are people who don’t trust the police? When police like this use their position of authority to commit such heinous crimes, it reflects poorly not only on your respective police force but the uniform as a whole. Since they’re entrusted in protecting the public safety, police do need to be held to a higher standard, and if they can’t meet that standard, they have no business carrying a badge and a gun.
- (Sources)
- Illinois police commander arrested on child porn charges, authorities say
- Suburban police commander charged with child porn
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 