Posted on 04/19/2009 8:47:54 PM PDT by raccoonradio
NEWPORT [NH] – A police officer-turned-radio personality who fled to Florida last week with his teenage daughter is now wanted on felony child pornography charges.
Police say former Newport officer Aaron Aldridge, 42, abandoned his 19-year-old daughter, Amanda, at Walt Disney World on Friday after abruptly disappearing with her on Monday. Orange County authorities found Amanda there and reunited her with her family Friday night.
Aldridge is wanted on warrants for one count of possession of child pornography and one count of production of child pornography.
Police said some of the photographs and video found by a member of Aldridge's family on Wednesday were produced inside the family home in Newport.
Aldridge, who worked as a full-time Newport police officer from 1999 to 2004, knows police are hunting him and is likely armed, said Newport's chief of police, David Hoyt.
"We do believe he may have a gun, but we don't know for sure," Hoyt said.
Police have initiated a nationwide manhunt for Aldridge, who had been working for about six months as a talk radio personality with WNTK in New London, co-hosting the station's morning drive-time show, "Wake Up New Hampshire." Prior to that, Aldridge worked as a staff news reporter for the Eagle Times of Claremont from 2005 to 2008.
Aldridge was last seen here early Monday, when he left his residence in Newport with his daughter, who also worked in New London.
Relatives reported the two missing later that morning when they learned that neither of them had arrived at work, according to police.
At that time, Hoyt said police had no reason to believe the disappearances were suspicious. Police initially believed Aldridge left because of "marital and financial difficulties," Hoyt said, adding that it appeared Aldridge had been planning his departure for some time and had considered moving into his own apartment in the area.
"Aaron's disappearance was ruled not to be criminal in nature, and there was no evidence to contradict or say he had fled under suspicious circumstances," Hoyt said.
On Wednesday, Aldridge's wife reported to police that while searching the house for clues to her husband's disappearance, she found child pornography in the form of photographs and video, some of which had been produced inside the house. Police have seized Aldridge's computer and other evidence, but as of yesterday, a full search had not yet been conducted, Hoyt said.
Police issued the warrants for Aldridge's arrest Wednesday night, along with a nationwide alert for his 1995 Chevy Lumina and a national report of Amanda as a missing person.
They also began to suspect that Amanda was not a willing passenger in the vehicle, Hoyt said.
Amanda had been engaging in sporadic text messaging with a person in Newport, but key questions the person asked about her whereabouts and her condition went unanswered, Hoyt said, leading police to believe Aldridge was supervising his daughter's communications.
Newport police were alerted Friday to activity on Aldridge's credit card near Orlando, Fla. Aldridge also contacted a relative in Newport, seeking financial assistance, but did not disclose his location, police said.
Newport police notified the Orange County Sheriff's Office and worked with their detectives most of the day Friday to locate Aldridge and his daughter. Amanda was found at about 3 p.m. Friday inside the Walt Disney World theme park. Her father had apparently left her hours earlier, police said.
Police in New Hampshire and Florida yesterday continued to search for Aldridge.
>>"Wake Up New Hampshire."
Wake up and smell the coffee.
WNTK has that local morning show and also Glenn Beck, Howie Carr, Rush Limbaugh, Savage, etc. So no they're not Air America in case you're wondering...
>>abandoned his 19-year-old daughter, Amanda, at Walt Disney World
Aaron Aldridge, you just left behind a bunch of kiddie porn at your N.H. home! What are you going to do now?
“I’m Going To Disney World!”
Interesting that they don't mention that the talk show is of a Conservative or "right-wing" bent.
Any New Hampsters familiar with this show? Is it left-wing, neutered or something else altogether?
The rest of the lineup in pretty conservative. I don’t know, I hadn’t heard the show, but...I wonder if this will be brought up tomorrow. They do stream http://www.wntk.com
IS, that should say
more from WMUR/9 incl. a desc. of his vehicle/lic plate #
http://www.wmur.com/news/19216643/detail.html
Has video too; said to be in “severe financial distress”
Without knowing fact #1 about this guy, who he is, what his views are, or the circumstances of this case, I think one thought should be brought up.
There is no more sure means of utterly destroying a person than alleging he is or was in possession of child porn. None. It is instantaneous. Indeed, it wouldn’t surprise me one iota to learn that there are “ambush” websites out there which would, if a user clicked on them, or agreed to accept a cookie from them, install an instance or two of child porn upon their computer. Or install URLs of child porn websites. If cops find that on your computer, you are history. Think about Pete Townsend, of the Who. Here was an aging rockstar that folks either liked form back in the day or still liked, or couldn’t care less about. He probably evaded prison by the skin of his teeth and his ability to pay big bucks for a legal defense. Again, I don’t know the first fact about his case and I don’t especially care, although I DO think child porn is scurrilous. I’m just bringing this up as an illustration of how someone was nearly destroyed by instances of kiddie porn. I have litle doubt that there are groups who can install such things on virtually anyone’s computer, should they wish to plant a “time bomb” on someone they wish to destroy.
I tuned in at the very end of the show (online) and there was no mention of it; just a chat with someone from the Lebanon NH chamber of commerce.
It would appear that being a NH talk show host does not afford a person a decent sled.
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