AK Radio: Morning Host At KASH Arrested For Kiddie Porn

Jimmy O'Brien

A drive-time radio personality known to Anchorage residents as Jimmy O’Brien was arrested Thursday on child pornography charges.

The Country KASH 107.5 FM host’s real name is James LaPlante, and according to KTUU-TV2,   the 48-year-old is accused of finding naked pictures of children online, distributing them on social media, and at least once of convincing kids to share illicit photographs.

Children depicted in images gathered by law enforcement officers are as young as four, according to charging documents.

A case was initiated when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was contacted by Instagram after the company realized an Anchorage-based user had uploaded 13 images depicting child sexual exploitation.

The national organization contacted the Anchorage Police Department, and in the charging document Det. Shawn Estes claims he identified LaPlante’s home address as the location where the images in question were uploaded to the popular social media service.

Google separately identified illegal images which LaPlante shared online from a computer owned by iHeartMedia, his employer, the state alleges.

The Anchorage Police Department executed search warrants on his home, the radio station’s offices and his Instagram and Google accounts, searches that revealed additional evidence from his iPhone.