Former ABC News journalist James Gordon Meek pleads guilty to possessing child pornography
Former ABC News journalist and father-of-two James Gordan Meek has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
During a court hearing in Alexandria on Friday, the 53-year-old formerly decorated reporter from Arlington, Virginia, admitted possessing dozens of inappropriate images and videos of children spanning at least the last nine years.
Divorcee Meek – who covered national security issues for ABC until he resigned last year – confessed to sharing child pornography videos, including one showing the sexual abuse of an infant in a chat with two other people.
His confession came as part of a plea agreement which could allow him to receive a shorter jail sentence than the minimum five-year term he would have faced if convicted following a trial.
Earlier this year, he was charged with possessing and transporting child photography following an FBI raid on his Arlington penthouse in April 2022.
Disgraced former ABC investigative journalist James Gordon Meek pleaded guilty to child pornography offenses during his federal court hearing on Friday
Meek has been indicted on three child phonography counts, and he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted at trial
Meek’s apartment building, where he lived until April in Arlington, Virginia
He went into hiding following the dawn raid, taking refuge at his elderly mom’s townhouse in McLean, Virginia, 15 minutes outside Washington, DC
Agents found dozens of child pornography images and videos on a laptop, external hard drive, and multiple iPhones when they searched Meek’s Virginia home last year, spanning back at least to 2014.
Court papers indicated the investigation began when the FBI received a tip from Dropbox about videos showing the sexual abuse of children in an account associated with Meek.
An FBI affidavit says evidence was also seizing showing Meek used Snapchat and other apps to pressure minors into sending him sexually explicit images.
In some of those communications, Meek portrayed himself as a girl – though these allegations are not explicitly referenced in his plea deal.
Meek is pictured in a photo from his Twitter account – which has been inactive since April
Meek’s lawyer had unsuccessfully argued that the evidence was obtained illegally and should have been tossed out.
The plea deal preserves Meek’s right to pursue an appeal to have the evidence dismiss.
Failing a successful appeal on the search-and-seizure issue, Meek will be sentenced in September and faces up to 40 years in prison, though a maximum sentence is unlikely.
He remains in federal custody awaiting his sentence after a judge revoked his bail and declared he posed a risk to the community.
Meek joined ABC News´ Washington bureau as an investigative producer in 2013.
He previously worked for the New York Daily News and also served as a senior counter-terrorism adviser and investigator for the US House Committee on Homeland Security.
Meek’s abrupt resignation and the FBI search of his home sparked fears last year that he had been targeted for his work as a journalist.
DailyMail.com finally spotted ABC journalist James Gordon Meek in October at his elderly mother’s townhouse in McLean, Virginia, where he refused to answer questions
He was last seen in late October, when DailyMail.com finally spotted him at his elderly mom’s townhouse in McLean, Virginia, 15 minutes outside Washington, DC
The divorced dad-of-two appeared to be keeping a low profile, parking his Chevy SUV several blocks from the property and ignoring questions as he slipped inside via a back door.
He was still wearing his typical military-style getup, including an army field jacket with an Afghan flag patch, backpack, aviator shades, and a keffiyeh scarf – a nod to Meek’s celebrated dispatches from the frontline in Afghanistan.