File photo.
A former Navy detective and El Cajon police officer sentenced earlier this year for choking another detained sailor at Naval Base San Diego is now facing a new charge of attempting to produce child sex abuse material, according to court documents.
Jonathan Christopher Laroche, 41, of Spring Valley, is accused in a complaint filed in federal court this week of sexually abusing a child and recording the abuse in a series of online messages with another person.
An affidavit authored by a San Diego-based Homeland Security Investigations agent states that an email address used by Laroche was identified by law enforcement officials in the Netherlands, who were investigating a darknet email provider that people were utilizing to share child sex abuse material.
One darknet user told Laroche they ran a business that paid people tens of thousands of dollars to share child sex abuse material, according to the affidavit.
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Laroche allegedly uploaded files that law enforcement believe depict the sexual abuse of a child, but law enforcement officials are currently "not in possession of the specific files he uploaded on the darknet," the affidavit states.
Other evidence cited in the document includes records of sex toy and child clothing purchases allegedly made by Laroche, which were delivered to his home. The affidavit also states that law enforcement confirmed that numerous details Laroche allegedly discussed in the messages matched up with real-life events and people.
Laroche was arrested on Wednesday in the new case, just weeks before he was slated to report to prison to begin his 15-month sentence in the excessive force case.
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Laroche pleaded guilty and was sentenced for choking a Navy sailor in late 2023 to the point of unconsciousness, including while the victim was intoxicated, not resisting, and handcuffed to a bench, prosecutors said. Laroche also was sentenced for lying on his application to the Navy's Criminal Investigations Division by concealing several prior excessive force incidents that led to his resignation from the El Cajon Police Department.
As part of his plea agreement, Laroche resigned from his position and is prohibited from seeking future employment with law enforcement agencies.
