A Vermont Air National Guard officer was arrested on Friday and indicted on multiple federal charges of child pornography.
Maj. Scott Brochu’s arrest came after Vermont’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations undercover operation in mid-May linked Brochu’s home computer IP address to sexually explicit photos of a child, NBC 5 News reported.
Brochu, 47, pleaded not guilty during his federal court arraignment to charges of possession and unlawfully transporting child pornography.
According to an affidavit in the case, Comcast was subpoenaed in April, allowing federal authorities to trace an IP address belonging to Brochu, which showed photos of a “prepubescent girl unloaded or viewed” on Feb. 23, VT Digger reported.
The affidavit said, “The Air Force Office of Special Investigations was contacted and confirmed he is full-time technician, working in South Burlington, Vermont.”
Brochu joined the Air Guard in February 1992 hoping to become a fighter pilot, according to an interview he had with the Vermont National Guard interview in March 2018. He said at the time that he was a civilian technician serving as a Logistics Readiness Officer for the 158th Fighter Wing.
The arrest comes as a shock to those who know him.
Capt. Mikel Arcovitch, spokesperson for the Guard said, “He’s been in the Guard a long time and it’s been pretty shocking. It’s obviously pretty disappointing but now it’s an investigation so we’re being respectful of the service member and doing what we can to be cognizant of the situation.”
The Vermont National Guard issued a statement, saying, “Maj. Scott Brochu was arrested on June 21, 2019 and The Department of Homeland Security is leading the investigation. The Vermont National Guard will support the investigating officials as they require. We hold our service members to a high standard. Any action by our service members that violates the law, breaks the trust that citizens place on our organization and will not be tolerated.”
Craig Nolan from the Burlington law office Sheehey Furlong & Behm is representing Brochu. He said, “We fully expect at the end of this process it will be clear he is innocent of the charges.”
If Brochu is found guilty, he could receive a sentence of five to 20 years for the charge of transporting child pornography, and up to 10 years for the possession charge, according to the Justice Department.
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office took over Vermont’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations (VT-ICAC) in October 2015 and have since successfully arrested 125 people for crimes against children, the Justice Department stated.
