Randolph man, former Lincoln police dispatcher pleads to child porn charges

RANDOLPH – A Randolph resident and former police dispatcher in Lincoln pleaded guilty last week to possession and receipt of child pornography.

Spencer Hughes, 33, caught the attention of investigators in October 2019 when the company Kik Messenger, an instant messaging program, said that child pornography had been sent on its platform months prior, according to a search warrant affidavit.

A year later, on Oct. 7, 2020, investigators went to Hughes' home at 66 Union Square in Randolph and "confronted" him, officials said. The investigator found a hard drive on his kitchen table containing 2,200 images and 68 videos of child pornography, according to court records.

Also on the table were "police-issued equipment," including an empty magazine, a bag and a knife. Hughes was a dispatcher with the Lincoln Police Department and a security guard for a hotel company, investigators said in court documents.

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Hughes has been out on a $25,000 bond since Oct. 23, 2020, his sentencing is set for 2 p.m. May 5.

After his arrest on Oct. 13, 2020, he was placed on administrative leave without pay from the Lincoln Police Department. On Oct. 30, 2020, he resigned from the department, Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years for the child pornography charges.

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Former Lincoln dispatcher from Randolph pleads to child porn charges