CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A 16-year veteran of Kanawha County's Metro 911 center was in jail Tuesday on charges he possessed child pornography.

Lt. Sean Crosier of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said James Sorgman, 49, of South Charleston, admitted to police that some of the printed images discovered in his home were photographs Sorgman took of his daughter when the girl was between the ages of 12 and 14.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha Magistrate Court, State Police tipped off local police that they had discovered possible child pornography that had been downloaded from the Internet and traced back to Sorgman. Police discovered Sorgman worked at the 911 center and called 911 officials to confirm Sorgman's address, the complaint said.

Sorgman then called Crosier and told him the pornographic images police had found probably belonged to him. Sorgman agreed to allow police to search his home, where they found printed images of girls in sexually explicit poses, including Sorgman's daughter, police said.

Police said Sorgman also admitted to both downloading and saving digital files containing child pornography on his home computer. Crosier said detectives took Sorgman's home computer and the computer he worked on at Metro 911.

Crosier said Sorgman was arrested about 6 p.m. Monday and charged with a felony count of possessing child pornography. The charge carries a sentence of up to two years in prison and $2,000 in fines.

County 911 Director Carolyn Karr Charnock said Sorgman has been suspended without pay. He had been working at the 911 center for 16 years, most recently on a project to map, rename and renumber all roads and homes in the county.

Charnock said Sorgman's job was administrative. "He didn't have contact with the public," she said.

Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper asked for an immediate internal investigation at the 911 center. "[Sorgman] had access to sensitive information," Carper said. "It was a position of high trust."

Sorgman remained in the South Central Regional Jail on Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 348-1215.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A 16-year veteran of Kanawha County's Metro 911 center was in jail Tuesday on charges he possessed child pornography.

Lt. Sean Crosier of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said James Sorgman, 49, of South Charleston, admitted to police that some of the printed images discovered in his home were photographs Sorgman took of his daughter when the girl was between the ages of 12 and 14.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha Magistrate Court, State Police tipped off local police that they had discovered possible child pornography that had been downloaded from the Internet and traced back to Sorgman. Police discovered Sorgman worked at the 911 center and called 911 officials to confirm Sorgman's address, the complaint said.

Sorgman then called Crosier and told him the pornographic images police had found probably belonged to him. Sorgman agreed to allow police to search his home, where they found printed images of girls in sexually explicit poses, including Sorgman's daughter, police said.

Police said Sorgman also admitted to both downloading and saving digital files containing child pornography on his home computer. Crosier said detectives took Sorgman's home computer and the computer he worked on at Metro 911.

Crosier said Sorgman was arrested about 6 p.m. Monday and charged with a felony count of possessing child pornography. The charge carries a sentence of up to two years in prison and $2,000 in fines.

County 911 Director Carolyn Karr Charnock said Sorgman has been suspended without pay. He had been working at the 911 center for 16 years, most recently on a project to map, rename and renumber all roads and homes in the county.

Charnock said Sorgman's job was administrative. "He didn't have contact with the public," she said.

Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper asked for an immediate internal investigation at the 911 center. "[Sorgman] had access to sensitive information," Carper said. "It was a position of high trust."

Sorgman remained in the South Central Regional Jail on Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 348-1215.