A former attorney who represented foster children has been slapped with federal charges for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, officials said.
Charles Aghoian, 61, was arraigned on Monday after a federal grand jury indictment accused him of sharing and holding onto vile videos and images some even included victims under 12 years old, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced. At the arraignment Aghoian declared his innocence and was met with a hefty $1 million bond, his trial is pinned for May 6.
The indictment, which originated on March 1, spells out Aghoian's alleged misdeeds from December 2020 through April 2021, during which time he was a supervising attorney at the Children’s Law Center of California. This organization is tasked with the noble cause of providing legal aid to abused or neglected kids in juvenile dependency courts across Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Placer counties.
Despite his not guilty plea, if the court finds otherwise, Aghoian is looking at a minimum of five years behind bars for each child pornography distribution charge, that could stretch up to 20 years for each count including possession, as per the chilling words of the indictment. The FBI is digging into the case, and it's been put on the shoulders of Assistant United States Attorneys Nisha Chandran and Alexandra Kelley to see this through to whatever justice might look like.
The allegations against the former attorney are in stark contrast to the mission of his former law office, thrusting a dark shadow over the work that goes into protecting society's most vulnerable. As the law stands, Aghoian will remain cloaked in the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Inquiries for more details have been directed to Ciaran McEvoy, Public Information Officer, according to the federal prosecutor's release.
