An 80-year-old Ketchikan city councilman, the city's former mayor, has been arrested on charges of possessing child pornography, police say.
A Ketchikan computer shop called police on Friday to report that a worker discovered the images when John W. "Jack" Shay brought in his laptop for repair.
Shay had been having trouble printing, said Deputy Police Chief Josh Dossett.
"When they hooked it up and started it all up, the printer began printing items that had already been queued in the printer ... it turned out to be child porn," Dossett said.
Shay has been charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography. Prosecutors may add charges as police review evidence found Friday in his Ketchikan home, Dossett said.
"We found additional printed-off material of young children performing sexual acts," Dossett said.
Shay told the Daily News today he would not comment on the arrest. "My attorney has advised me not to," he said, before thanking a reporter for the call and hanging up.
Shay made his first court appearance Saturday and was released on $30,000 bail, Dossett said. Jack Shay is a former mayor for both the city and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. His term on the city council ends October 2012, according to the city website.
Police in the Southeast Alaska city seized Shay's computer and printer at the computer shop Friday, Dossett said. A detective obtained a search warrant for the computer equipment and for Shay's home, where they found the former borough mayor about 6:30 p.m.
Shay said he wanted to talk to a lawyer and left the home, police said. He was arrested when he returned to the residence at about 10:30 that evening, Dossett said.
The councilman's arrest came less than 30 minutes after he had finished performing a small role in a fall musical at the Ketchikan High School auditorium. After being released on bail, Shay also performed Saturday night.
Police are reviewing videotapes and digital media, such as thumb drives, seized at the home, Dossett said.
"Right now, I've got at least one detective and two officers working full time on this case," he said. "We've got a lot of evidence to go through and we'll see where it leads us."
Shay's attorney, Dennis McCarty, did not immediately respond to a request by the AP for a comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact reporter Kyle Hopkins at khopkins@adn.com.
By KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News