A Dothan man was arrested and charged with four counts of dissemination of child pornography after mailing three suspicious letters to Alabama House members on Wednesday.
A House member who received one of the letters said they were sent to lawmakers who last year sponsored legislation that became law to require age verification on adult websites.
A fourth letter was sent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s office, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.
John Watson, 54, was booked in the Houston County Jail without bond last week. He was a driver license examiner in ALEA’s licensing division, the agency said. He was immediately placed on leave Wednesday and resigned Thursday in lieu of termination.
Alabama House officials called ALEA Wednesday to report several suspicious letters. Each letter contained multiple pornographic images, ALEA said.
Under last year’s House Bill 164, pornographic websites have to verify those viewing are 18 or older before granting access. It also requires warning labels on the websites about social risks and harm of pornography and acquire written consent from those who appear on the site. Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, sponsored that bill. Reps. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, and Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, were co-sponsors. They received the letters, Robbins told Alabama Daily News.
“(Watson) was unhappy that he has to verify his age, and he claims that there are still nude images you can find on social media and other places, but he still has to verify his age,” Robbins said.
Robbins said DuBose first opened the letter addressed to her and contacted him. He contacted Capitol Police, who confiscated the letter addressed to him.
“I saw the cover letter and what was written to us, but (Capitol Police) confiscated and handed (it) over to ALEA before… and I never saw the images themselves,” he said.
Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, previously said he was made aware Wednesday morning “that a handful of House members received packages in the mail containing expletive images and other inappropriate materials.”
Additional charges may be forthcoming, ALEA said in a statement Thursday.
Alabama Daily News’ Alexander Willis contributed to this report.