Ohio Cop Accused of Viewing Child Porn on Duty

A Waterville Township police officer will appear Wednesday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, a day after a warrant was issued for his arrest as a result of what his attorney said was a misunderstanding of dates.

Jan. 18, 2012

2 min read

Jan. 17--A Waterville Township police officer will appear Wednesday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, a day after a warrant was issued for his arrest as a result of what his attorney said was a misunderstanding of dates.

David Krego, 42, of Toledo, is charged with illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, a fifth-degree felony. If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison and would be classified as a sexually oriented offender.

He is accused of viewing and downloading a nude photo of a female juvenile on a township computer while on duty.

Judge Myron Duhart issued an arrest warrant after Officer Krego failed to appear in court Tuesday for his scheduled 9 a.m. arraignment. The warrant remains active but will be withdrawn when the officer appears in court.

Attorney Jerry Phillips, who was retained to represent Officer Krego, said he told his client to appear in court Wednesday. The mix-up was the result of updates in the court's docket that occurred when there was a change in the judge assigned to the case. The case had initially been assigned to Judge Gary Cook and set for arraignment Wednesday. The judge subsequently recused himself and when it was reassigned to Judge Duhart, the arraignment date was also changed -- to Tuesday.

"We believed that his arraignment was set for Wednesday, the 18th, at 9 a.m. before Judge [Myron] Duhart," Mr. Phillips said. "That's when I told my client to be there."

According to a Jan. 4 indictment, Officer Krego allegedly "did possess or view any material or performance that showed a minor who was not the person's child or ward in a state of nudity." The indictment further states the incident allegedly occurred on Dec. 23, 2010.

Authorities said the investigation was begun by the township department after problems with the computer led to maintenance of the machine. It was then that images were discovered, in particular a photo of an unknown naked girl between the ages of 12 and 14.

Township officials said the patrolman, who has been employed by the township since 1996, is still a member of the department but has been "off the duty schedule" for several weeks.