County employee arrested for felony solicitation of a Louisiana child
Los Alamos Police Department continues investigation
A Los Alamos resident also employed by the County is facing felony charges in Louisiana for allegedly exchanging inappropriate images and videos with at least one child in Louisiana. Police in Los Alamos are investigating to see if he had any similar contact with children in town.
The Los Alamos Police Department confirmed Wednesday that 38-year-old Kyle J. Hatch is in custody and that an extradition hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Hatch faces felony charges in Louisiana for indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor, according to documents seeking extradition filed in Los Alamos Magistrate Court.
LAPD is conducting a “preliminary investigation” of electronic evidence, a person within the department told Boomtown.
Police in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, about 30 miles east of Baton Rouge, allege Hatch believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old boy when he sent images of himself to a phone that was in the possession of a detective with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, according to a criminal complaint filed in Los Alamos Magistrate Court.
One image Hatch sent was a selfie taken while inside his office at the Los Alamos transit dispatch center, the complaint stated.
An investigation into Hatch began Dec. 29, according to court documents, after the mother of the child in Louisiana contacted police there to report that Hatch had been in contact with her son via online video games and through his cellphone.
Earlier this month, with permission from the child, detectives in Louisiana began chatting with Hatch through one of the child’s social media accounts and confirmed Hatch’s identity in part by matching a photo he sent with a Los Alamos County employment photo, the complaint stated.
Los Alamos officials declined to comment on Hatch’s arrest citing that it was “considered a personnel matter.”
If Hatch does not fight extradition, Livingston Parish authorities would likely transport him to Louisiana to be arraigned on the two felony charges.
The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stephanie Nakhleh contributed to this story.