Ex-Eugene officer admits in Bend to child porn, hidden cameras

A former Eugene police officer was sentence to seven years in prison by a Bend judge Thursday after pleading guilty to 21 charges involving child pornography and invasion of privacy, the latter for several disturbing incidents involving cameras hidden in bathrooms to record fellow officers and teens.

Jeffrey Wade Argo, 41, was visibly upset during the proceedings before Deschutes County Circuit Judge Randy Miller and, when it came time to speak, offered tearful apologies to his victims and said he hoped they could forgive him — also apologizing to Police Chief Pat Kerns, who spoke in court, and to the rest of the force.

“I want to apologize to the victims for the images I’ve used and to the people I’ve victimized, and hope one day they can forgive me,” Argo said, as he also apologized to his family.

Too emotional to finish, his lawyer, Jim McIntyre, read the rest: “I acknowledge my guilt and accept my punishment, and again, I am sorry for the things that I have done.”

The invasion of privacy counts involve miniature video cameras installed in the men’s bathroom of the Eugene Police Department and in the bathroom of a Bend home where he and other officers stayed during a work retreat.

He also admitted filming a fellow officer at the state police academy in Salem, and four high school track team members at a Clackamas County freeway rest stop bathroom in 2013.

Eight counts involved child pornography duplicated onto his Google Drive while in Bend in 2014 that he found on the social media site Tumblr.

“The defendant then knowingly uploaded some 18-20 child pornography images from the Tumblr blog he was looking at into his Google drive account,” state Department of Justice prosecutor Bumjoon Park said.

Park said the images came to the attention of Google, which alerted police.

“Inside the urinal of the Eugene Police Department’s bathroom, the defendant then knowingly made videotape or other means of recordings six different police officers,” Bumjoon said.

The seven-year sentence imposed by Miller actually was three years longer than a plea agreement submitted to the judge by defense and prosecuting attorneys. The maximum he could have faced is 97 years in prison and a $2.2 million fine.

Argo resigned from the force nearly a year ago after allegations of child pornography and other criminal activity surfaced, police said.

Kerns read a victim impact statement on behalf of his department., saying Argo’s bizarre behavior was difficult to comprehend and violated the department’s trust.

“He betrayed our officers in ways that have become humiliating and forever altered our sense of security in our building,” the police chief said.

As for the younger victims, Kerns said, “Children victims are the very people police officers work most diligently to protect. And Mr. Argo instead contributed to the life long harm caused by a deplorable trade. Mr. Argo’s criminal acts have undoubtedly robbed young men of sense of safety.”

McIntyre said his client has a severe sexual addiction and has been attending Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings since last June. He also said Argo immediately accepted full responsibility for what he did and did not contest the charges.

Argo’s lawyer said he has been cooperative throughout the investigation.

“He has recognized how badly damaging his conduct has been,” McIntyre said. “He has recognized that he was going to be going to prison.”

Eugene police said Argo was an officer with the department for a brief period, hired in July 2012 and completing his probation period in January 2014. The department received word in March 2014 from the Oregon Department of Justice that it was investigating Argo for possible criminal acts. He resigned April 22 of last year after being confronted about the allegations.

“Mr. Argo’s criminal conduct is shocking and disturbing,” Kerns said in a release before the hearing. “The men and women of EPD are grateful for the professional investigative work completed by the DOJ.”

“The victimization not only hits home, but extends to vulnerable people we seek to protect every day in our work,” the police chief added. “Although it doesn’t restore everyone’s sense of trust or privacy, we are gratified to know he is being brought to justice and will not be in our community while serving his sentence.”

“It is critical we hire the right people to be police officers,” Kerns said. “Although we use the most rigorous professional standard practices available to us in selecting and screening candidates, it is not enough.

“Oregon is one of the few states in our country that prohibits all employers from using the polygraph as a condition of employment. Most other states permit law enforcement agencies to screen candidates using a polygraph exam. We hope that through a legislative amendment we can begin to use this extra tool,” the police chief said.

The Eugene Register-Guard reported the district attorney filed the charges last month. Argo’s home was raided in December by investigators Investigators seized computers and cellphones, among other items, from his home.

A DOJ agent wrote in the search warrant affidavit that most of the images depicted boys engaging in sexually explicit conduct, the newspaper reported.