The FBI is investigating allegations involving a child development center at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
The public affairs office at White Sands declined to answer questions about the nature of the investigation at the Thomas J.P. Jones Child Development Center, but the investigation reportedly is related to photos taken of children’s genitalia.
White Sands officials also wouldn’t say whether workers at the center were thought to be involved, and whether those workers were still at the CDC. They instead referred all questions to the FBI’s Albuquerque field office. That office did not immediately return calls from Military Times.
Army Criminal Investigation Command is also involved in the investigation.
No charges have been filed, according to a post on the White Sands official Facebook page.
Officials announced a town hall meeting for Friday evening to inform parents about the investigation. Information was not available about whether parents whose children had previously attended the CDC, including those who may have moved to a new duty station or location, will be notified.
KRQE.com reported in December that a search warrant stated that workers at the child development center found pictures of children’s genitalia on CDC iPads last summer.
A detective questioned the workers, and they all denied taking the pictures, but then the photos were deleted, the TV station reported. At that time, the report stated, investigators were asking a judge to allow access to an iCloud account in an effort to recover the pictures.
“The security and safety of our children, families and workforce are top priorities for WSMR and the Army,” the command’s Facebook posting stated.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
