aTm Employee Arrested for Child Porn, FBI Uncovers Use of “PIZZA” as Code Word in Chats

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A Texas A&M University (TAMU) employee, Clinton Harnden, has been arrested by the FBI on charges related to child pornography.

The arrest came after agents executed a search warrant at Harnden’s residence and found evidence of his involvement in receiving and possessing child pornography materials, KBTX reported.

Harnden held the position of Senior Administrative Coordinator at Texas A&M University. His LinkedIn profile indicates that he had been employed at the university for more than a decade, but only took on the senior administrative role in July 2020.

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According to the FBI affidavit obtained by Current Revolt, the investigation began following the arrest of Sarah Chadwick in Michigan on November 8 for possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

During her post-arrest interview, Chadwick revealed her communication with Harnden via WhatsApp, where they exchanged significant amounts of CSAM.

Further analysis of the chat between Chadwick and Harnden revealed that Harnden used the term “pizza” as a code word to discuss CSAM.

According to FBI Special Agent Dimitri Willis, “CHADWICK and HARNDEN used the term “pizza” to talk about CSAM during this interaction. I know from my training and experience that “pizza” and/or “cheese pizza” is a known slang/code-word used by individuals to discuss CSAM in public forums without detection. After sharing the CSAM, CHADWICK asked HARNDEN if he thought she was horrible because of all the “pizza.” HARNDEN replied that “Pizza is one of my favorite foods.””

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