A former California Highway Patrol officer from Redding pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court to a charge of possessing child pornography while he still worked for the state law enforcement agency.
Timothy Allen Horwath, 53, knowingly received visual depictions of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct from Feb. 25, 2019, through Oct. 10, 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento announced in a news release.
He was arrested in December 2019 after he was indicted in federal court. Horwath, who has since retired, was working as a CHP officer at the time of his offense, federal prosecutors said.
On Tuesday, Horwath remained in custody at the Sacramento County Jail. Prosecutors said Horwath’s pretrial release was revoked Feb. 24 after he violated his bond conditions by using the Internet, smart phones and tablet computers that he was prohibited from possessing.
He’s scheduled to return to court Aug. 22 for his sentencing hearing. Prosecutors said Horwath faces a sentence of five to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution to the victims of the offense.
Horwath has agreed to deposit $75,000 into the court’s financial registry to be used to pay any court-ordered restitution to victims, assessments and other financial penalties, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.