COVINGTON, La. — The assistant chief of the Covington Police Department has been arrested and faces five charges of having child porn that involves children younger than 13-years-old, the state's attorney's office confirmed Thursday afternoon.
Covington resident Joseph "Trey" Mahon, 37, was booked into the St. Tammany Jail after an investigation that involved state and federal law enforcement.
A spokesperson for the Office of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said detectives with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security worked together in investigating Mahon.
A series of child porn arrests have been made in Louisiana in 2021, according to releases from Landry's office.
The St. Tammany Sheriff's inmate roster said that Mahon was being held on a charge of possession of child pornography.
St. Tammany Parish residents recently arrested for having child porn include
- Michael Feilden, 70, of Mandeville (500 counts, children younger than 13)
- Conor Sterbenz, 27, of Slidell (6 counts, children younger than 13)
The investigations by the Attorney General's Cyber Crime Unit have worked with parish sheriff's office deputies across Louisiana as well as several federal agencies besides Homeland Security.
One of the Cyber Crime Unit's investigations worked alongside NCIS for an arrest in Plaquemines Parish.
NOLA.com had a story about Mahon being promoted to chief deputy late last year.
According to NOLA.com's story, Mahon began his public service as a Junior Firefighter with the Covington Fire Department at the age of 13. In 2002, he was hired full-time with the fire department and became a Reserve Police Officer with the Covington Police Department.
Seven years later, Mahon went full time with the police in Covington and subsequently worked as a patrol officer, detective, street crimes officer, administrative sergeant, public information officer, and most recently, Criminal Investigations Division commander. He is also a member of the Secret Service Task Force.
Mahon replaced Deputy Chief Robert Blount, who is retiring. Blount was named Deputy Chief in Covington last year.