The Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) received cyber tip line reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) pertaining to child pornography images being uploaded from an address in James City County. This address was the residence of William R. Gibbs. On Aug. 28, the GCSO notified James City County Police Department (JCCPD) of this alleged criminal activity. Due to the possible offender being a JCCPD Investigator, we requested GCSO to conduct a criminal investigation. An administrative subpoena confirmed that the images were uploaded to an external cloud storage belonging to Gibbs. Based on this information, Gibbs was suspended on Sept.6, and an internal investigation was initiated in addition to the criminal investigation. On Sept. 14, Gibbs submitted his letter of resignation and his intent to retire from James City County with his last day of employment being Sept 30. Gibbs was hired in 1984, promoted to Investigator in 1987, where he worked up until his suspension.
As a Department, we work very hard to build and maintain trust in our community, and we will continue to work with our citizenry to provide the best police services possible. We have done our best to ensure that these allegations are investigated properly, and we will be as transparent as possible throughout the coming weeks and months.
Media contact:
Deputy Chief Steve Rubino
757-592-6490; steve.rubino@jamescitycountyva.gov