A Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post editor has been charged by the federal government with possession of child pornography.
Thomas P. LeGro, 48, was arrested on Thursday after authorities allegedly found 11 video files of child pornography on LeGro’s work laptop, which was located at his home in Washington, D.C.
The journalist faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.
The Washington Post said in a statement that it “understands the severity of these allegations, and the employee has been placed on leave,” but refused to comment further.
LeGro’s Washington Post profile says he was “part of a team of Post reporters who were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Senate candidacy of Roy Moore and a subsequent effort to discredit The Post’s reporting” in 2018. “As Deputy Director of Video, Tom oversees an award-winning team of video journalists who work across the newsroom, including in National, Climate, Metro, Style and Technology,” the profile adds.
Facebook: Tom LeGro
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia said LeGro made his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Friday.
“LeGro, a journalist at the Washington Post and resident of the District of Columbia, was arrested [Thursday] and taken into custody following a search of his home,” the office said.
The charges were announced by Jeanine Pirro, interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
“On June 26, 2025, FBI agents executed a search warrant at LeGro’s residence and seized several electronic devices,” the press release said. “A review of LeGro’s work laptop revealed a folder that contained 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse material.”
“During the execution of the search warrant agents observed what appeared to be fractured pieces of a hard drive in the hallway outside the room where LeGro’s work laptop was found,” it continued.
“This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.”
