Fort Collins – A veteran firefighter and former division chief with the Poudre Fire Authority has been charged with viewing and distributing child pornography on computers while on duty.
Ronald Uthmann resigned from the fire department after being placed on administrative leave in February as the case was under investigation.
Uthmann, 58, had more than 35 years with the Poudre authority. He was in charge of the department’s emergency-management division.
“I was shocked; I really was,” said Chief John Mulligan, who has known Uthmann since 1978.
Uthmann was part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency team that assisted in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mulligan said.
“It’s pretty devastating, pretty shocking for the department that this has occurred,” he added.
Uthmann was arrested Monday in Grand Junction at a hardware store where he was working. He is charged with two felony counts of sexual exploitation of children and one misdemeanor count of sexual exploitation of children.
There are dozens of computer pornographic images that are questionable, but investigators can’t be certain about the ages of everyone in them, said Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden.
“Is the person 16 or is the person 19?” Alderden said.
Investigators, however, are certain that there are at least two images where children appear to be under the age of 10, Alderden said. The images being investigated are of both boys and girls.
The sheriff’s office initially investigated Uthmann in 2005, based on a tip about child pornography on his work computers from 2000 to 2003. Alderden said there was insufficient evidence to make a case.
The current investigation took a step forward when a local minister contacted the sheriff’s office. The minister received information about Uthmann from another party who was afraid to come forward out of “fear of retaliation,” Alderden said.
The Fire Authority began an internal investigation in February, and three computers that Uthmann used as part of his job were seized.
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office and a computer specialist with the Fort Collins Police Department joined in the investigation.
Investigators do not believe that Uthmann produced any of the materials. He is suspected of viewing and distributing child pornography. Uthmann posted a $25,000 bond Monday night and was released from the Mesa County Jail. He could not be reached for comment.
His next court appearance is scheduled in Fort Collins in early June.
Meanwhile, the accusations have shaken the fire department, which has about 214 professional and volunteer members.
“They are as disappointed as I am,” Mulligan said.
“It affects everyone.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
