Patrick Wojahn has become the latest of at least 13 mayors arrested on child sex crimes since 2021, ranging from child pornography to sexual assault.
The now-former mayor of College Park, Maryland, was arrested on child pornography charges Thursday morning, adding to a long list of mayors accused of preying on young children while exploiting the trust of their communities.
Patrick Wojahn, 47, is charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material, according to Prince George’s County Police.
Wojahn, who was elected mayor of College Park in November 2015 after serving as a city council member since 2007, submitted his letter of resignation Wednesday night, city officials said.
“The City of College Park thanks Mayor Wojahn for his many years of dedicated service,” the city said in a press release. “Effective immediately, Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell will serve as presiding officer until a Special Election is held and a new Mayor has been sworn in.”
Wojahn’s case isn’t an unusual one. At least 12 additional then-current and former mayors have been accused of child sex crimes since 2021, ranging from child pornography to sexual assault.
Phil Briggs, the mayor of Spencerville, Ohio, resigned last month after he was arrested for allegedly secretly recording his girlfriend’s teenage daughters while they undressed.
Ted Tomaszewski, the former mayor of Mansfield Township, New Jersey, was charged in January with sexual assault, luring and child endangerment. He is accused of engaging in multiple sex acts with a 15-year-old in 2022 after leaving office in 2014.
Statistics obtained by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and recent court documents show that Amazon’s chat app Wickr is the top destination for child sexual abuse and Wickr needs to do more in regards to identifying and taking steps to prevent child sexual abuse material being traded on their platform.
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