Army Soldier Formerly Stationed at Mar-a-Lago Sentenced to Probation for Lying to Feds About Child Porn

A soldier in the U.S. Army who was responsible for White House communications at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida was sentenced to three years probation Friday for lying to federal agents about uploading child pornography to a Russian website.

Staff Sgt. Richard Ciccarella, who was overall responsible for the Trump administration's communications services at the private club in Palm Beach, apologized to U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks for posting photos of a young girl, wearing only her underwear, to a Russian site, according to the Palm Beach Post.

"This was the last place I thought I would be," said Ciccarella, now 34 and stationed in Virginia. "I will forever regret my actions."

Ciccarella only ran communications at Mar-a-Lago for just six months—from August 2017 to Match 2018—all during President Trump's watch.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller said the photos uploaded did not necessarily warrant child pornography charges, but lying to federal investigators certainly raised red flags.

"Here the lie and the obstruction was to cover up an email address to cover up a much bigger investigation that was going on," Schiller said in court.

For a quick background, court records show Ciccarella was first confronted by federal agents in his office, and he told them that photos labeled "Dirty comment's [sic] welcome" were not his.

When agents told Ciccarella to try accessing the site by using his email address, it prompted him to enter some missing numbers from a government-issued mobile phone. When Ciccarella entered the numbers, his cell phone rang.

That alerted agents that Ciccarella had used his government account to access the site and upload photos.

Ciccarella, at this point, said he had uploaded and later deleted photos to child pornography sites.

Ciccarella two months ago—after his May arrest—admitted that he lied to federal agents.

Ciccarella enlisted when he was 19, and he has received a plethora of citations and commendations over the last 15 years. He served two tours of duty in Iraq and five years working for the White House.

When he was arrested, he said it could end his marriage and career, which included placing calls for the White House before his duty at Mar-a-Lago.

"The worst punishment I could receive is losing my position in the service," Ciccarella said.

While on probation, Ciccarella must receive treatment as a sex offender, complete 100 hours of community service and he is not allowed unsupervised contact with minors.

Furthermore, his current care from a psychiatrist prevents him—as a convicted felon—from possessing a weapon. However, his current position in the Army does not require him to carry. But then again, it could affect his ability to serve in the Army, the report stated.