Child Porn Bill Passes

The House of Delegates voted unanimously this morning to make the possession of child pornography a felony and to toughen the maximum penalty to five years in prison and a fine of $2,500.

The vote comes less than two weeks after Del. Robert A. McKee resigned as local and federal authorities said they were investigating the Republican lawmaker for possession of child pornography. Authorities searched McKee's Hagerstown home and seized two computers, videotapes and printed materials.

Dels. Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery) and Susan K. McComas (R-Harford) introduced the child pornography legislation several weeks before McKee's resignation. The bill now heads to the Senate for approval in that chamber.

--Philip Rucker