Ex-SLT firefighter pleads guilty to child porn

By Kathryn Reed

Nearly two years after being arrested on child pornography charges, former South Lake Tahoe fire Capt. Mark Wygant was in federal court in Sacramento on Dec. 16 to plead guilty to one charge.

Mark Wygant

A plea deal brought the original six charges involving sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of minors down to one charge of transportation of child pornography.

He will be sentenced at a future date. Wygant faces between five and 20 years in prison. Since his arrest in January 2015 he has been held in the Sacramento County jail.

“I am pleased that Mr. Wygant pleaded guilty to his crime and the punishment will now be in the hands of the criminal justice system,” Fire Chief Jeff Meston told Lake Tahoe News.

A flash drive was found in an unassigned locker at a city fire station containing more than 5,000 images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and more than 50 video files depicting child pornography, according to court records.

The crimes began in March 2011 and were ongoing until at least December 2014.

The 46-year-old resigned from the department in February 2015. During his employment with South Lake Tahoe he was living with his family in Chico.