A Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post photo-journalist has been arrested and charged with possessing child abuse images on his computer. 

Thomas Pham LeGro, 48, appeared before a federal judge in Washington DC on Friday where he was detained ahead of a bail hearing next week. 

The FBI said agents had executed a search warrant at Mr LeGro’s residence on Thursday and seized a number of electronic devices.

It said that after examining his work laptop agents found a “folder that contained 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse material”.

The agency added that while carrying out the search, agents spotted what appeared to be “a broken pieces of a hard drive in the hallway outside the room where Mr LeGro’s work laptop was found”.

In its report of the arrest, the Post said that in charging papers, the FBI wrote that Mr LeGro was linked to an account identified in 2005 “as part of an investigation into E-Gold, a payment company used by child pornography websites”.

LeGro ‘placed on leave’ by newspaper

The newspaper said he had worked for the Post in two stints over the course of 18 years.

The Post’s website says: “In 2018, Tom LeGro 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.”

It added: “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. Tom joined Video in 2013.”

There was no immediate response from the Washington Post to an inquiry from The Telegraph.

It was not clear whether Mr LeGro had retained a lawyer or had a chance to enter a plea.

In a brief statement, the Washington Post said it “understands the severity of these allegations, and the employee has been placed on leave”.  

The newspaper said the charge carried a maximum punishment of 20 years imprisonment.