Christ Church speaks out after former deacon charged with possession of child porn
MOSCOW, ID — A former church deacon in Moscow is facing a federal charge of possession of child pornography. Alex Lloyd, indicted after police discovered his iPhone contained graphic images of the illegal material. The content of this report may be disturbing to some. After a lengthy investigation led by Moscow Police, Christ Church is speaking out about this indictment.
On April 19, former Christ Church Deacon Alex Lloyd was indicted in federal court for Possession of Child Pornography on his iPhone. Lloyd was discovered to have been in possession of images of a prepubescent minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, Title 18 of the U.S. Code defining that as a child under the age of 12.
The investigation, led by Forensic Detective Lawrence Mowery with Moscow Police, alleges that Lloyd was in possession of the material from March 2021 through January 2022.
Lloyd plead not guilty in U.S. District Court.
During the COVID pandemic, the number of child porn investigations was amplified. In a KLEW News special report, Anna Velasquez dove into the climbing number of child porn investigations across the state. Moscow Police Dept. Detective Eric Kjorness said his team is working with numerous agencies across Idaho to combat these crimes. “There's about 16-18 of us doing these active investigations full-time and then we have affiliates throughout other departments throughout the state.”
KLEW News reached out to Christ Church for comment, who released their first statement on the matter in response. They allege this incident began back in January when Lloyd was brought into questioning in regard to these charges. He was picked up at the police department by Pastor Doug Wilson, where Christ Church became aware of what they called ‘a porn habit.’
Lloyd resigned from his role as deacon and was officially removed from office by January 18.
Christ Church later stating quote, “With regard to the criminal charges that were filed, to which Alex has pled not guilty, we are content to let the court do its work. With regard to the other surrounding sins by which Alex disqualified himself, humiliated his family, and embarrassed his church, he has sought our forgiveness and we have extended it.”
The Church would later say they ‘regard this tragic episode as one more casualty in the unconscionable pornification of our culture.’
In Federal Law, possession of child pornography involving children under the age of 12 is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, lifetime supervised release, and requires the convicted person to register as a sex offender.
Lloyd’s jury trial is set to begin June 21.
