A U.S. Army official responsible for all White House communications at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort uploaded photos of a scantily clad young girl to a seedy Russian website, according to prosecutors.
Staff Sgt. Richard Ciccarella, 34, was sentenced Friday to three years in probation for lying to federal investigators as a part of a child pornography investigation, the Palm Beach Post reported.
The sentence was part of a plea deal after Ciccarella posted pictures on a Russian website of an underage relative who was only dressed in her underwear with the caption “dirty comments welcomed.” Prosecutors eventually determined the pictures did not constitute child pornography.
“This was the last place I thought I would be,” Ciccarella said. “I will forever regret my actions.”
Security experts warned that the officer, if he were not caught, could have caused a massive security breach.
“There are a lot of people with access to classified information, but if a foreign adversary became aware of this, clearly he becomes a huge blackmail target,” Peter Harrell, a former State Department official, said, adding that the case presented a “significant security risk.”
Former Assistant Attorney General for National Security David Kris said this case could have also presented the potential for blackmail.
“There is a blackmail concern as well as a targeting risk, especially given his access to communications,” he said.
Officials have expressed concern over the security of Mar-a-Lago given the president’s propensity to use it as a favorite vacation spot. Earlier this month, a Chinese woman was found guilty of trespassing on the resort and lying to federal agents.
