UConn grad Ryan O’Connor, a reporter at TV 3 Winchester in Virginia, has been fired following child pornography charges, according to the station’s Web site.
Police started investigating O’Connor, 23, after getting a report from a 14-year-old Illinois girl who complained about receiving a photo of O’Connor via e-mail in which he was nude below the waist, the Winchester Star reports.
Police questioned O’Connor and placed him under arrest Monday morning, after finding child pornography on a computer seized from his apartment, according to the Star.
The two met online, but police told the newspaper that the exact timeline is not certain.
O’Connor worked at UConn's TV station while earning his degree in journalism, later working at WINY Radio in Putnam and serving as an intern at WFSB, the Winchester Star reported, citing a cached version of his bio from of TV 3's Web site.
Winchester police spokesperson Amanda Baker confirmed that O’Connor has Connecticut ties, but would not go into more detail.
O’Connor has been charged possession of child pornography, taking indecent liberties with a minor child and using a computer to take liberties with a child, Baker said.
He was being held without bond and a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
