Waltham Police Officer Arrested On Child Porn Charges

A veteran Waltham police officer who won $1 million in the lottery two years ago was jailed Tuesday on child pornography charges.

At an initial court appearance Tuesday, Paul Manganelli was ordered held until a detention hearing Thursday. If convicted, he faces 5 to 20 years in prison. His lawyer didn't comment after Tuesday's hearing.

Manganelli, 46, was arrested by the FBI Monday. According to a criminal complaint, he sent and received images and videos of child pornography by email. The complaint said Manganelli is a member of an online child porn sharing website.

Manganelli acknowledged to an FBI agent that he sent and receive child pornography, but he told the FBI agent he was trying to find perverts online, the complaint said.

Waltham police said Manganelli was never assigned to conduct any such investigation, and he never reported any illegal activities during the two to three years he was collecting and sharing child porn, the complaint said.

The 46-year-old Manganelli has been a Waltham officer for 20 years. He's also a disc jockey at a company he started with a friend in the 1980s, which advertises work for kids' and teens' parties.

In 2011, Manganelli claimed $1 million on a winning "$100,000 a Year For Life" lottery ticket.

Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy called the allegations against Manganelli "disgusting."

"My thoughts are with his family," McCarthy said.

Acting Police Chief Keith MacPherson said in a statement that Manganelli's "alleged off-duty conduct of one employee is not a reflection of the Waltham Police Department as a whole."