Former Senate Aide Facing Child Porn Charges Found Dead In Sykesville
SYKESVILLE, Md. (WJZ) --A former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander took his own life in his parents' Carroll County home as he awaited trial on child pornography charges.
Derek Valcourt has the shocking turn in what many call a tragic story.
Federal prosecutors warned a judge they were worried Ryan Loskarn would hang himself if he were released to home detention. It turns out that's exactly what happened.
The 35-year-old was arrested at his Washington, D.C. home back in December after federal authorities say they found hundreds of child pornography videos on his personal home computer equipment, including images depicting the rape of a 6-year-old.
The bust came as part of a massive sweeping child porn investigation that netted arrests around the world.
A federal judge allowed Loskarn to serve home detention at his parents' Sykesville house until his trial under the conditions that he stay inside the home, under electronic monitoring and have no Internet access.
Thursday afternoon, family members found Loskarn unresponsive in his parents' basement. The medical examiner has ruled his death a suicide.
Loskarn was well-respected on Capitol Hill and had worked his way up to chief of staff for Sen. Lamar Alexander, who released a brief statement, saying only "for everyone involved, this is a sad and tragic story from beginning to end."
Loskarn's parents issued their own statement:
"We loved our son very much, and we're devastated by his death. Please respect our privacy at this difficult time and let us grieve in peace. Pray for him, his family and friends."
Authorities say their complete investigation into Loskarn's death may take several weeks. For now, they will not be releasing any more details.
Loskarn had been facing the possibility of up to 30 years prison if convicted on the federal child pornography charges.
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