A Florida-based Navy commander was indicted Tuesday on charges that he distributed videos depicting child sexual abuse and possessed files depicting “the sexual abuse of young children,” the U.S. Justice Department announced.
Cmdr. Gregory E. McLean, 38, has been detained pending trial.
He served as the executive officer of the littoral combat ship Minneapolis-St. Paul until November, before the ship was commissioned, according to Navy officials.
McLean’s civilian attorney, Jesse Dreicer, said in an email this week that the officer “has entered a plea of not guilty and will try this case in the courtroom and not in the media.”
“We hope everyone understand that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty which means that despite the reporting of these allegations Mr. Mclean is still innocent,” Dreicer said in an email this week to Navy Times.
The surface warfare officer faces at least five years in prison and up to 20 years for each of the three counts he is charged with, according to the Justice Department.
The Florida native was arrested Monday.
His indictment alleges that, using the screen names “twisteddesire 3210″ and “twisteddesire3213,” McLean distributed media “of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct” in November 2020.
The indictment further alleges that he possessed such material in November 2021 as well.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
