Firefighter faces child porn charges

Published 7:28 am Thursday, February 23, 2012

A veteran Whitfield County firefighter has been charged with multiple counts of child pornography.

Eddie Payne, 67, of 1704 Vann Way, Dalton, was charged Wednesday by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office with 40 counts of child pornography. He remained in the Whitfield County Jail Wednesday evening without bond.

Fire Chief Carl Collins said Payne had been a volunteer for more than 25 years and received a $350 quarterly reimbursement to offset his expenses. He fought fires for many years but for the past two or three was in a support role, Collins said.

“When (investigators) came to me and told me that, I had a hard time believing it,” Collins said. “He just has never caused any trouble, never done anything to even think that. He’s always been just a super nice person.”

Collins said Payne will be dismissed from the department.

Contacted after business hours on Wednesday, a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office captain said information on the case wasn’t immediately available since the investigator who handled it was off duty.

Collins said the investigation had been ongoing for at least a couple of months. He said it’s his understanding Payne is accused of having child pornography on his personal computer and that the alleged crimes didn’t occur on department equipment.

Payne has been recognized for his work several times. In 2008, he was a candidate for the firefighter of the year award. In 2010, he received a service award for 25 years. Collins said Payne wanted to continue serving with the department in some way even when he became physically unable to fight fires.

“I just hate that it happened,” Collins said. “You don’t ever like for anybody in the department, whether they’re volunteer or paid, to be involved in something like that.”