INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — A former Indianapolis police sergeant will spend nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing child pornography.
Javed Richards, 42, operating under the alias “Chasepleez,” used the online messaging app Kik in the summer of 2024 to share child sexual abuse material. At the time, he was assigned to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit.
Richards was arrested in August 2024 and formally charged in Marion County before the case moved to federal court.
A federal grand jury indicted Richards in October 2024 on six counts related to child sexual exploitation.
In January, Richards pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly distributing child pornography. Federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining five counts as part of the plea agreement.
Richards admitted that on July 14, 2024, he shared a four-second video depicting the sexual abuse of a female child under the age of 12. He also admitted to distributing additional videos — covered under the dismissed counts — showing the sexual abuse of several female children under 12, including a toddler.
According to court documents, Richards further admitted to possessing more than 600 images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Richards to nine years in prison, to be followed by five years of probation upon his release.
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