An investigation by the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) led to the arrest on Aug. 20 of Gregory Kieran O’Connell, who was charged with felony possession of child pornography, reported Maj. M.E. Sampson of the MCSO.
According to Maj. Sampson, warrants for his arrest were obtained as the result of a cyber tip to the MCSO investigator.
O’Connell, 33, had been a sailing coach at Christchurch School and resigned following his arrest on Monday. He is being held without bond at the Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center in Saluda.
MCSO detectives and deputies executed a traffic stop and arrested O’Connell on U.S. Route 17 as he was returning to the school for the new year.
A search of O’Connell’s residence on Hibble Road in Saluda turned up further evidence. He had lived there while he was a teacher on property owned by Christchurch School. He also maintained an address in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
This is an ongoing investigation, Maj. Sampson emphasized.
The MCSO participates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; and the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, as well as the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.
