Apr 7, 2006 6:11 pm US/Eastern
Official Resigns Amid Child Pornography Charges
WASHINGTON (WJZ/AP) ―
WJZ.com has learned the Homeland Security Deputy Press Secretary accused of making sexual advances through the Internet on a detective posing as a teenager has resigned his post within the department.
Brian J. Doyle, 55, and a Silver Spring resident, was arrested Tuesday after a Florida investigation found he had been communicating online with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Doyle, the department's fourth-ranking spokesperson, was charged with over two dozen counts of child pornography.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday he did not believe Doyle's alleged sexual misconduct resulted in a breach of national security, calling the case an individual's "misstep."
"From time to time, there will be instances when misconduct occurs," Chertoff said, referring to Doyle's arrest.
Doyle, 55, allegedly provided the pseudo-victim with his government-issued office phone and cell phone numbers, showed off his department ID and may have used his official computer in chatting her up.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., has vowed to investigate the department's hiring procedures, saying Doyle may have provided "potentially sensitive information over the Internet to a complete stranger."
But Chertoff, noting that "individuals will misstep," said he doubted the offense created a risk to national security based on the allegations.
"We try to weed out those who pose a security risk," Chertoff said in a briefing with reporters. "I don't know ... that background checks with people hired will predict future behavior."
But he added: "We are always focused on tightening our security. We will certainly cooperate with Congress."
Doyle, who lives in suburban Silver Spring, Md., has been suspended from his job without pay and was being held without bail at a nearby detention center as Florida seeks to extradite him.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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