Lt. Cmdr. Robert J. Cleary, who is based at the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center in San Diego, California, was charged in November with six crimes related to his alleged attempts to possess, receive and view child pornography on his work computer beginning in May 2016, the Navy Times reports, citing charge sheets viewed by the outlet.
Cleary is accused of six offenses, some committed repeatedly between May 2016 and July 2017. According to Military.com, those offenses are attempting to receive and view child pornography, possessing child pornography, two charges of conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman, and failing to follow two legal orders in using his government computer to commit crimes and bringing a personal computer into a restricted space.
Prosecutors allege that Cleary entered "search terms indicative of child pornography" into his work computer, and even posted a handwritten reminder of similar search terms, including phrases like "Jail bait in bikinis, nn Tweenies" and "nipples pre teen girls," at his desk, Navy Times reports. He's also accused of masturbating at his desk several times over that year, which earned him the misconduct charges. In July 2017, child pornography images were allegedly found on a personal laptop belonging to Cleary.
The officer was formally charged in November and arraigned in February, Military.com reports. He will appear before a court-martial for a motions hearing July 8, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest said.
This is only the latest in a string of child-pornography charges and convictions among US Navy personnel. A US sailor killed himself in April the day before his child pornography court-martial was to begin. In 2018, a Navy SEAL was sentenced to 27 years for filming himself molesting a child, and in 2017 a sailor was sentenced to 30 years for producing child pornography.
