NORFOLK — A member of SEAL Team 1 pleaded guilty on Wednesday to taking a video of himself molesting a young girl in January.
Gregory Kyle Seerden, a 31-year-old petty officer who is stationed in San Diego as a member of SEAL Team 1, pleaded guilty to producing child pornography in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He faces between 15 and 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 18, 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Seerden was arrested on April 4, more than two months after the Naval Criminal Investigative Service began looking into him, according to court documents.
The investigation began on Jan. 27 after someone lodged a complaint against Seerden while he was doing temporary duty at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, court documents state.
Due to the complaint, NCIS got a search warrant for Seerden’s iPhone 7. They searched texts, photographs, videos and phone calls.
On the phone, police found 78 images that they believe are child pornography. These include prepubescent males and females engaged in sex acts. Some of the pictures also include bestiality, court documents state.
On the phone, police also found four videos and a picture that were taken on Jan. 1 or Jan. 2. They depict a 5-year-old girl sleeping beside Seerden, whose genitals were exposed.
Other evidence included pictures taken earlier that weekend showed Seerden reading to two children in a bed. The clothing he and one of the children were wearing in those pictures, matches the clothing of the people in the pornographic video, according to court documents.
Send news tips to [email protected].
