[AP] A former Los Angeles Police Department officer whose son is serving time for possessing child pornography was sentenced today to eight months behind bars for the same crime.

John Robert Deegan, 55, must also serve four months in home detention, pay a $3,000 fine and spend seven years in supervised release.

A year ago, the defendant’s 29-year-old son, Jonathon Deegan, was sentenced in Los Angeles federal court to eight years in prison and 30 years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen said there were a number of mitigating factors resulting in the relatively lenient sentence given to the elder Deegan.

The judge pointed to the small number of illicit images found on Deegan’s computer and the fact that the pictures were “not as egregious” as material found in similar cases.

However, she added, each time such an image is downloaded, “the child is victimized again.”

Nguyen also mentioned Deegan’s “lifetime of exceptional service to the community … in a very tough neighborhood” and the low likelihood he would commit any future crimes of the same nature.

“This is a difficult sentencing,” Nguyen said, noting that Deegan’s background as a police officer “makes him vulnerable” to abuse while in prison.

Father and son were indicted by a Los Angeles federal grand jury in September 2009.

The younger Deegan was initially charged with receiving, possessing and distributing child pornography, while his father was charged with
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receipt and possession.

Both eventually pleaded guilty to possession of child porn.

“I regret my actions and I take full responsibility,” John Robert Deegan told the court today.

Federal investigators first came to suspect the younger Deegan — who had no previous criminal history — of trading pornographic pictures and videos on the Internet, according to court documents.

When FBI agents served a search warrant at the Long Beach home he shared with his father — then an LAPD Central Division patrol officer — they found 600 images on his computer of children, some as young as 4 years old, involved in sex acts with adults, prosecutors said.

They also found a small amount of child pornography on his father’s computer.

“This was a very difficult case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Yang told Nguyen. “However … the defendant was a police officer … and as such was held to a higher standard.”

Deegan, who was an LAPD officer for almost 25 years, is no longer employed by the department.

“He paid a steep price for the conduct that led to a conviction of this nature,” the judge said. Investigators were able to identify some of the children in the pictures, none of whom are from Southern California, and the Deegans are not suspected of ever contacting them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Background: October, 2009 – A veteran Los Angeles police officer is facing child pornography charges.

A federal grand jury charged 54-year-old John Robert Deegan and his 25-year-old son, Jonathon, with two counts each of possession of child porn last month, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court.

Both turned themselves in and were released last week on $10,000 bail.

Prosecutors say Deegan and his son had child porn on a home computer in January 2008.

Deputy Chief Mark Perez says Deegan has been suspended with pay since March when FBI agents told police officials that he was under investigation.

Attorneys for Deegan and his son declined to comment but Ira Salzman, who is representing Jonathon Deegan, says his client will plead not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― from www.cbs2.com – Two men — a father and son who live together in Long Beach — are accused of distributing, receiving and being in possession of child pornography, according to officials.

The older man, John Deegan, 54, is also a patrol officer with the LAPD’s Central Division.

Deegan was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of possession of child pornography. His 25-year-old son, Jonathon, meanwhile was indicted on charges of distribution, receipt and possession of child porn.

The head of the Los Angeles police union expressed dismay and shock at the elder Deegan’s arrest.

“While the allegations are very disturbing, it is important to remind the public that everyone, including police officers, are innocent until proven guilty,” said Paul M. Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League.

“As Los Angeles police officers charged with the safety and well-being of our residents and visitors, we expect all officers to hold themselves to the highest ethical and moral standards — in both their professional and personal lives,” he said.

“While the arrest is embarrassing to the men and women of the LAPD and the city, our message to the community is unequivocal: Anyone who does anything that might endanger the welfare of a child has no place in the LAPD. Harming children is against everything we stand for as an organization and as
individuals.”

The LA Times reports that Deegan, who has been an LAPD officer for more than 20 years, was relieved of duty in March, when FBI agents alerted police officials that he was under investigation.

Federal authorities first came to suspect the younger Deegan of receiving and sending illicit images and video on the Internet, the newspaper reported.

Reportedly, after FBI agents served a search warrant on the Deegan home, they allegedly found illicit material on a computer owned by the son, as well as child porn images on the elder Deegan’s computer.