The general counsel for the Florida Elections Commission was arrested Wednesday on charges of possession of child pornography, according to court records.
Eric M. Lipman, 60, was charged with 11 counts of OBSCENE MATERIAL-POSSESS WIT PROMOTE PHOTO MOVIE SEX PERFORMANCE CHILD.
He was taken to the Leon County Detention Facility.
Tim Vaccaro, executive director of the Elections Commission, confirmed Lipman’s arrest in an email to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“The commission is fully cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation,” Vaccaro said. “The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending further information.”
Detectives with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit got a tip Feb. 24 from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children about possible child porn downloaded by a local individual, according to a news release.
After a six-week investigation, detectives developed Lipman as the suspect. On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at his home on Benchmark Trace.
“As a result of the investigation and evidence discovered in the search warrant, Lipman was arrested and charged with 11 counts of possession of child pornography,” LCSO said.
His first court appearance is set for today in Leon Circuit Court. His mugshot was redacted under an exemption in Florida law pertaining to current or former law enforcement officers and members of certain state agencies, including the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Lipman, a Boston native, began working for the Elections Commission in 2001 as assistant general counsel, according to his online bio, which was scrubbed from the agency’s website this morning. He earns $85,444 a year, according to a state salary database.
UPDATE 11 am 4/8/2021 Eric Lipman RELEASED TO PRE-TRIAL SUPERVISION LIPMANN MUST HAVE NO DEVICES WITH INTERNET ACCESS OTHER THAN FOR WORK AND FELONY CASE PURPOSES DO NOT GO WHERE MINORS CONGREGATE NO UNSUPERVISED CONTACT WITH MINORS