A former ABC investigative reporter who mysteriously disappeared in April 2022 after the FBI raided his home, has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges and faces at least five years in prison.
James Gordon Meek, a former senior producer and senior counter-terrorism advisor to the US House Committee on Homeland Security, pleaded guilty on Friday. Meek, who is divorced and the father of two, was arrested on January 31 and is charged with transportation of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. At one point, he had a “top-secret clearance.”
Meek, 53, pleaded guilty in a US District Court in Alexandria to avoid a public trial. He admitted to illegally possessing and transporting child pornography, according to NBC News.
Former ABC News senior producer and a senior counter-terrorism advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security James Gordon Meek pleads guilty to transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material. https://t.co/lDBZx21Feq pic.twitter.com/LGW7cpq3Rr
— Just Human (@realjusthuman) July 21, 2023
The journalist was acclaimed for his coverage of national security issues for ABC until he resigned last year when the lid came down on him. He reported on terrorism, wars, and major crimes.
Another former ABC reporter hit with ugly scandal — this time, it’s a federal child pornography charge https://t.co/AVy1ag2WRf
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) February 2, 2023
Meek was outed after the FBI received a tip from Dropbox in March 2021 concerning five videos that showed the heinous sexual abuse of children in an account connected to him, according to court papers.
He evidently cut a plea deal with the feds. As part of that agreement, he confessed to using an iPhone called “Bone Machine” to exchange child pornography with others, including a video that purportedly showed the horrific sexual abuse of an infant, during a chat session with two other people via the messaging platform Kik, according to People.
“Among the images federal agents allegedly found in Meek’s possession was one of a naked prepubescent boy, a strap crossing his face, his mouth forced open and his hands bound to his feet. A Santa Claus hat is on his head and a bow is around his waist. Agents also recovered conversations in which Meek — who authorities say used the handle ‘Pawny4’ — allegedly tells a 12-year-old girl that he fantasized about ‘abducting, drugging, and raping’ her. Another video allegedly shows the rape of an infant,” the media outlet reported.
“Meek allegedly engaged in chats with minors and adults obsessed with hurting children in social media conversation threads, the criminal complaint states. According to the complaint, Meek allegedly spoke with minors as young as 12 on sites like Snapchat — authorities claim he used the username ‘hoolijax’ — and Omegle, a communication platform offering random matches for anonymous text communication, which can be filtered for likely minor matches,” People added.
A former ABC News producer & journalist has pleaded guilty to possession of CSAM.
He used a messaging app to send & receive CSAM videos & pictures of children under 12, including a video of an infant being raped.
Say to James Gordon Meek. pic.twitter.com/lvp3PI8H9H
— dara faye (@darafaye) July 22, 2023
According to an FBI affidavit, agents found dozens of child pornography images and videos in Meek’s home. They dated back to at least 2014.
NBC News reported, “The affidavit says evidence was also seized showing Meek used Snapchat and other apps to pressure minors into sending him sexually explicit images, and that Meek sometimes portrayed himself as a girl in some of those communications. Those allegations are not explicitly referenced in his plea deal.”
The Emmy-winning producer’s attorney, Eugene Gorokhov, claimed that the evidence was obtained illegally and should be inadmissible in court. That argument failed. According to his plea deal, Meek will retain the right to pursue an appeal to get that evidence dismissed.
If that appeal tanks on the search-and-seizure issue, Meek is set to be sentenced in September. He faces at least five years but could get up to forty years in prison.
An ex-senior producer with ABC News pleaded guilty to transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material. James Gordon Meek, 53, was a senior counter-terrorism advisor to the US House Committee on Homeland Security. He’s also accused of grooming minors for sexual abuse. pic.twitter.com/M7E7zvSr1i
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) July 22, 2023
In 2013, Meek joined ABC News as an investigative producer in their Washington bureau. Before that, he worked for the New York Daily News.
His sudden resignation, dropping off the radar, and the FBI searching his home caused a media firestorm with speculation running rampant on what happened to him and where he ran to. There were whispers of the pornography angle but nothing definitive was reported at the time.
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