Oregon Top Administrative Law Judge Charged In Child Pornography Case

HILLSBORO — That there's a man sitting in the Washington County Jail in Hillsboro after being charged in a child poronography case is not necessarily unusual. What makes this case different is that the person in custody is a judge.

Not just any judge but the state's chief administrative judge. In that position, Judge John Michael Mann is in charge of dozens of judges who mediate disputes between state agencies and individuals and businesses affected by agency decisions.

Mann was arrested on Monday after a grand jury indicted him on April 7 on 10 counts of encouraging child sex abuse in the first degree, according to court records. As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, he was being held on $20,000 security.

Governor Kate Brown appointed him to his position in 2017. Her office said that he is now on administrative leave. He first became an administrative law judge in 2003.

The 10 separate counts of the indictment, each involving a separate computer file, each state that Mann knowingly possessed, accessed, or viewed, and planned to sell, publish, or disseminate a "visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involving a child."

According to indictment, the files had names such as "4yo babysitting done right."

On Tuesday, he pleaded "not guilty" to all of the charges. He is due back in court on April 20 for a hearing.

Court records indicate that one of the people who was called before the grand jury hearing the case was Mann's ex-wife.

Last month, the two were divorced and she was awarded sole custody of their child, according to court records.

The case was investigated by the Beaverton Police Department.