Former Nevada National Guard member charged in child porn case
A former member of the Nevada National Guard had an inappropriate online relationship with a child and purchased child pornography online, Las Vegas police say.
Chandler Harrison Pong, 20, of Las Vegas, was arrested Tuesday at Harry Reid International Airport on a warrant and charged with possessing child pornography, using a minor to produce porn and luring a child for a sex act.
Officers arrested Pong as he exited a Southwest Airlines flight around 6:30 p.m.
“Chandler Pong served in the grade of E-4 before his separation from the Nevada National Guard,” National Guard spokesman Emerson Marcus said in a statement Friday. “He is no longer a member of the Nevada National Guard.”
Marcus said Pong separated from the Nevada National Guard in April.
An FBI investigation into Pong began in February 2021 based on Pong posting “violent racially motivated ideologies” on social media along with threats of violence against minorities, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest warrant.
The FBI’s investigation found Pong intended to produce non-serialized firearms and offer them for sale to other social media users, the arrest warrant said.
While being interviewed by law enforcement in November, Pong said he had a previous online relationship with a girl between the ages of 12 and 14 years old from out of state. Pong said they had communicated over social media and shared inappropriate pictures of themselves, according to the warrant.
He also told law enforcement that he used the dark web to access several websites to view images of underage girls.
Police executed a warrant on Pong’s devices and found several inappropriate photos of the girl. Pong also purchased child pornography by communicating through Telegram accounts. He was subscribed to Telegram channels that “appeared to be associated with white supremacy and/or Nazi ideologies,” according to the warrant.
Marcus said the Nevada National Guard became aware of Pong’s activity through a federal investigation and removed him from the Nevada National Guard.
“The Nevada National Guard does not tolerate racist, extremist ideology,” Marcus said in the statement. He said associations with extremist groups are prohibited in the U.S. Army.
Law enforcement subpoenaed Pong’s PayPal account and found transactions from May and June 2021 in exchange for internet file links believed to be child pornography, the arrest warrant said.
Pong remains in custody in the Clark County Detention Center without bail and is due in court on Monday.
Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.