The Antelope Valley Times

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Antelope Valley CHP officer charged with sharing child porn

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LOS ANGELES – A California Highway Patrol officer assigned to the Antelope Valley Area office has been charged with possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities said.

Robert Tamayo, 37, made his initial court appearance Friday, but arraignment was rescheduled to Dec. 12. Tamayo was charged Thursday with one count each of distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography, and he faces up to five years and eight months in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors allege that Tamayo shared child pornography using a social media app in May, and that more than 600 pornographic images were found on his computers and cell phones.

The District Attorney’s Office investigated the case after receiving a tip from the FBI.

Tamayo, a 10-year CHP veteran, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of criminal and administrative investigations, according to CHP Sgt. Saul Gomez. Tamayo had been assigned to the CHP’s Antelope Valley Area office, Gomez said.

“We want to assure the public that we take any allegation of misconduct by our employees, whether on or off duty, very seriously,” Gomez said in a statement. “The CHP is fully cooperating with the investigating agencies. In addition, the CHP is conducting its own investigation into the allegations.”

Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

50 comments for "Antelope Valley CHP officer charged with sharing child porn"

  1. Mr. Martinez. I only research to supplement and provide MORE PROOF to that that i have experienced and been a victim to by smug offenders such as yourself. THANKS FOR COMMENTING ……. you gave up SO MUCH info in that one paragraph cause you know how much criminals like to brag and be acknowledged for what they do/ get away with……..you didnt get all the paperwork…….and i havent forgotten ANYTHING

  2. They need to give this highway patrol officer the same amount of years in jail like they do to child sex offenders if not right that these officers get less time and other people get either 25 years or more everybody should be treated the same in doing thing wrong.

  3. This is just another typical, every day kind of thing that is usually swept under the rug. Living in the AV for about 8 years now and i am still completely baffled at the amount of crap these sheriffs out here get away with. Not just the sheriff’s either. The judges, the lawyers, and every person holding position of authority. If it’s not the sheriffs covering up something or even setting people up for their personal reasons, then it’s lawyers working with the DA who is working with the judge for a plea that only makes hem look good on paper. I can’t say all AV sheriffs are the same but there are so many sideways cops out here that we can’t see the honest ones. It would take miacles to clean the trash out of this place. And how well do tbey monitor tbeir employees to have given much time And space to be on social media

    • I’ve said and yelled this before in jail multiple times when I got thrown in for 4 months for defending myself on my property against tweekers I don’t know that harrased me and then tried to assault me with a bat and a knife, “Lancaster cops are failures when it come to justice.” They look out for their tweeker welfare relatives and screw over those that are single loners that don’t want them involved in their personal business let alone in their house or property. And it’s pathetic to think that you have to be of authority or above someone else to be an upstanding human being. Perhaps Robert tomato wasn’t from lancaster, but I can’t wait for those above lancaster police authority to investigate them to the bone.

    • “another typical, every day kind of thing”?! i don’t know what kind of “everyday” things your used to dealing with, but my “everyday things” certainly don’t include possessing and distributing child pornography. lol

    • Krissy, you are spot on about the goings on here in the city of lancaster/ AV. Its called ” criminal racketeering” and stay tuned because that “miracle” you and so many others are waiting for and deserve is just about ready to shine its light of truth upon all the lies, deceptions and actions of those involved.

  4. Hardly the worst of California LE. Thank you, Unions.

    I’m sure he’ll be back at work like the others when this is over with.

    LAPD stories are far worse… most corrupt LE organization in the world.

  5. They should throw him in full population with all the peedo haters. Of coarse that ain’t gonna happen cuz he’s gonna get special treatment in a special jail cell. And all the other cops involved are gonna be off the hook. Just like how they cover up for there tweeter relatives.

  6. Busted for child porn and here come the LEO lovers to protect him. WOW! Really? Makes me wonder what is on your computers!

  8. Maybe he was doing an undercover sting and he needed a lot of material to convincingly play the part. NOT! I’ll bet if he was gunned down in the line of duty before these accusations surfaced, he would have been memorialized at a park or highway.

  10. Alexis, you obviously have something against law enforcement officers, have you ever been convicted of a crime? If you know who these officers are, why don’t you turn them in or are you one of the predators they supply to?

    • The usual “if you don’t like cops you must be a criminal” theory. Guess what, when cops act above the law they don’t make friends of anyone…even ordinary citizens who aren’t criminals.

      Our local cops are among the worst in the nation when it comes to abusing the authority of their badges. It’s a legacy handed down under the leadership of Baca and Tanaka and they have earned the widespread distrust they encounter, and the contempt they are held in. It will take a lot to change that, if they were even interested…but I see no indication that they are.

    • Hi Jennie…Robert Tamayo is the subject of this article, not me. Yes, Jennie, I have a problem with law enforcement officers that don’t live by “The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.” Instead of attacking me, I wonder why you don’t find this officer’s vile crime against children abhorrent to you.

  11. This guy can NEVER represent public safety again. He should be in jail but doesn’t have the fabric to make proper decisions.

    • If he was, by chance, gunned down responding to a police call before any of these aligations ever surfaced, he would have been memorialized at some park or highway.

      • duh. geeshe. people have unknown skeletons and die as heroes all of the time. how are we to know what someone is hiding?

  13. Sickening. It’s these few twisted cops that make all other cops look bad. Sickos like this guy, the racist cops, the dishonest cops, etc. are the reason while all of the good cops out there are constantly looking over their shoulder. As we all know, a few bad apples can ruin the whole bunch. I wold love to see more cops turning each other in (when necessary) instead of succumbing to the pressure to remain in the cone of silence.

    • They don’t make the others “look bad.” They make the others bad, period. A cop who won’t enforce the law based on “but the criminal has a badge” is a bad cop, period. There may be some sliding relative scale where you can say that they aren’t AS BAD, but there’s no way they can be called “good.”

      • difficult situation for good cops when there have been laws, policies, treaties, propositions put in place (thanks bushs, clintons, obamas, kamala, holder) that allows the criminal (predators, abusers, murderers ) to conceal and/or hold a badge, liscense (thanks city ) or certificate that most people know nothing about.

        Am tired and all i can say on this issue right now

    • There is plenty of information if you took the time to research. Distribution also means there are plenty of predators out there he supplies.

      • I’m sure you’ve burnt the candle on both ends on many occasions “researching” this topic and somehow coming to the conclusion nobody else’has come to that there are “many” creeps like this guy in law enforcement. Your fantasy information source somehow predicts the future because it knows many of the people that will be caught in the future will be law enforcement officers or it has information there are cops currently doing this that the FBI just hasn’t been able to catch yet? Please tell me how to find this cleravoint research database and I’ll use it to bet on the next world series game.

        • I’m not the subject of this article, Fidel Martinez. Read “The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.” Actually, a person doesn’t have to burn the candle at both ends to be informed. Robert Tamayo committed a particularly vile act involving children. Not to mention all those he was distributing child porn to.

          • Yes, but who are the “many” more cops that are looking at child porn? That’s what you said in your original post. Where can I find the information on all the current police officers who are still looking at child porn?

          • Fidel, are you trying to make the point that there is never any information about cops and their criminal activities because cops always cover for each other? Because if that’s your goal you are wasting your time, since everyone but the badge lickers already believes that.

  15. placed on administrative duty so…..still working / still getting paid. how nice. joe blow citizen would be suspended without pay until the investigation is complete.

      • Yup what you dummy? Where can I find the information that supports your claim that he is one of “many” law enforcement officers who are looking at child porn? You said the information is out there so cut and paste the link!

          • He wants me to do everything for him. Well, anyway, I don’t cut and paste, but I gave him something he can google.

        • This is very simple for you, Fidel Martinez. Pull up “Law Enforcement arrested for trading in child rape.” 103 LEOs arrested in child porn, and this is a small sample. These are actual cases with case numbers and names. It is a long read, Fidel, so take a little of your time to get informed. Also read “When Law Enforcement is the perpetrator.” More than two LEOs a week trafficking in child sex abuse. No pedophile should ever wear a badge, carry a gun, and swear an oath to serve and protect. If we cannot keep pedophiles out of law enforcement, what kind of country have we become?

          • If 103 created such a blizzard of evidence that it couldn’t be hidden then typical blue wall of silence behavior indicates that there are thousands of cases that have been covered up by their faithful brothers. That seems to justify the use of the word “many.”

          • There are nearly 80,000 police officers just in the state of California and your number of 103 is nationwide.

            I like how Tim acts as if police officers would try to cover up for a sex offender in their midst like Tim does for his fellow East Palmdale molesters. if this was just another run of the mill sex offender in the Antelope Valley, it wouldn’t be shocking and wouldn’t even garner much in the way of headlines. It’s newsworthy because it’s a police officer who, just like anybody else doing this, should be tried and convicted thanks to the hard work of fellow officers who don’t tolerate this.

          • I said that was just a small sample, and I have never read one comment from Tim, covering up for sex offenders. Yes law enforcement cover up for each other.

          • I wonder if Foolco cares to comment on the porn viewing that goes on down at the stations. There was a nice expose on a few years ago. Of course he was probably taking the rig out to bring water to the homeless or stopping by a local eatery to help out the businesses and didn’t get to catch many of the flicks.

          • If somebody is intentionally viewing inappropriate material at County facilities they should be terminated.

            Alexis, I said that cops won’t cover for a sex offender they work with. That’s just not going to happen. Outside of that, do cops cover for each other at work? Sure. Just like welders, UPS drivers, and anybody else in the workforce covers for a friend coworker.

            I will say, all through both of my academies it was drilled into our heads not to lie on a report or excuse any criminal or negligent behavior in hopes of helping out your buddy. Where else do you have occupations with internal affairs investigations, district attorney investigations and several watchdog commissions and outside agencies brought in to investigate bad apples? With a sworn occupation, there should be intense scrutiny and zero tolerance. Zero.

            I am sure most here don’t have that scrutiny in their workplace.

          • Foolco is the product of a household headed by his own cop father, and knows full well that his own childhood is a demonstration of cops covering for each other’s misdeeds. Tell us Foolco, did you count on the brotherhood of the badge for protection if your kids got caught smokin’ the dubey, or is that a problem for your generation that your dad never had to face?