Ex-cop accused of child porn possession, posing as teen online

A retired CHP officer was arrested Monday in an alleged “catfishing� scheme, in which prosecutors claim he pretended to be a teenage girl on a social networking site to bait kids into sexual situations.

Edward John Hofer, 53, was taken into custody without incident by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Unit based on charges filed last week.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Samer Hathout said Hofer, 53, is charged with two counts each of sending harmful matter to a minor, possession of child pornography and contact with a minor for sexual offense.

Hofer allegedly identified himself as a teenage girl and met an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl on Tagged.com. Prosecutors claim he sent them sexual material and contacted them for the purposes of committing a sex crime.

Prosecutors charged Hofer on April 23, and he is due to appear in a downtown courtroom Tuesday on the charges. His recommended bail is $90,000.

Hofer retired from the California Highway Patrol in 2012. His last assignment was in the Torrance area.

If convicted as charged, Hofer faces a maximum sentence of six years and four months in state prison, prosecutors said.

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