Former Stoughton City Council member charged with five counts of possessing child porn

MADISON, Wis. — A former Stoughton City Council member was charged Tuesday with five counts of possessing child pornography.

Paul C. Lawrence, 67 was charged in Dane County court. He was arrested Friday after investigators with the Division of Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant on his home. While searching Lawrence’s bedroom, law enforcement found a closed laptop with sound coming from it. When investigators opened it, the laptop was playing a video of two teenagers having sex.

When an investigator asked Lawrence if anything came to mind regarding suspicious internet activity, Lawrence reportedly told law enforcement he looks at porn online, some of which has been “close to the line,” adding that when he looked at it he’s gotten rid of it.

“I’m not sure I’ve gotten rid of everything as I should have,” Lawrence said. “I have been ashamed of when I’ve looked at some of this stuff.”

Lawrence went on to say he planned to smash some of his old devices and take them to the dumps to get rid of them, according to the complaint. He also reportedly told investigators he had been looking at child porn and downloading it for the past year but had seen it online for years before that.

Authorities said they began their investigation after getting a tip from Google in June that an account tied to Lawrence contained multiple files containing child porn.

According to Lawrence’s LinkedIn account, he was an alderman for nearly two decades. He served as council president from 1999-2002 and again from 2015-2016.

If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of three years in prison for each charge. The charges each carry a maximum sentence of 25 years.

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