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Meghan Breanna
Alt, 25, of San Clemente was charged with one felony count of
possession and control of child pornography and three felony
counts of lewd acts upon a child, federal and local authorities
said in a joint statement.
Alt took pictures of the girl in sexually explicit poses, then
sent them to a U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton in
Southern California in exchange for cash and gifts, according to
a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Alt was crowned Mrs. Orange County and in 2014 competed for the
Mrs. California title. Those contests are aligned with the Mrs.
America and Mrs. World pageants, and all of the competitions are
for married women.
She was arrested in San Diego on Wednesday, officials said.
Her arrest resulted from an investigation by the Orange County
Child Exploitation Task Force and other law enforcement
agencies, officials said.
It was unclear what actions authorities might have taken against
the Marine. A representative for the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service, which was involved in the case, did not
immediately return a call seeking comment.
Officials declined to be more specific about the victim in order
to protect her identity, but they said the girl is related to
Alt.
Authorities said they are looking for other potential victims in
the case. Alt was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in Irvine and San Clemente as a youth
volunteer and had access to children, authorities said.
She is being held in Orange County jail on $100,000 bail and was
expected to be arraigned on Friday in Orange County Superior
Court. It was not immediately clear if she has obtained an
attorney.
(Reporting by Marty Graham; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Eric
Beech)
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