(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - In an investigation that is continuing, Ketchikan City Councilman John (Jack) W. Shay Jr., 80 years old, of Ketchikan was arrested Friday afternoon and initially charged with ten counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

The investigation began when detectives of the Ketchikan Police Department were called to a local computer repair shop due to a report that images of prepubescent children involved in sexual acts were found on a computer.

A  search warrant was obtained for the residence of the computer’s owner.  The Search Warrant was served on the residence at approximately 6:30 PM Friday and numerous printed images of prepubescent children involved in sexual acts were found and subsequently seized.

Shay has held numerous elected positions in Ketchikan and was currently serving on the Ketchikan City Council until he submitted his resignation today.

Shay has previously served as the Mayor of the Ketchikan Borough and Mayor of the City of Ketchikan. Shay was elected twice as city mayor in 1979 and 1982 at which time he cut his second term short to take a job with the state government in Juneau in 1983. He was also elected Ketchikan Borough mayor twice, in 1996 and 1999 and completed both terms. Shay served a total of 11 years as either city or borough mayor. He also has previously served as well as a Ketchikan Borough Assembly member.

Shay also served on the Ketchikan School Board. He was elected to the Ketchikan School Board in 1973 and served until 1975.

Shay was head of the Ketchikan Job Service office where he worked until 1983 when he was chosen by incoming Alaska Governor Bill Sheffield to be the head of the State Division of Employment Security in Juneau. He was there for four years before retiring. In 1988, after retiring from his state job, he ran for State Representative for District One. He lost by one percent of the vote to Cheri Davis. In 2004, running as a Republican, he lost to Jim Elkins in the Republican primary for the House District One seat.

Shay is a past president of the Alaska Municipal League.

According to Ketchikan's public radio KRBD, Ketchikan City Council Member Jack Shay tendered his resignation Monday.

Shay was a founder of Ketchikan-based First City Players back in the mid 1960s, Shay was also one of the company’s first directors and was the first Kurt Von Ohlson, an evil character in the Fish Pirates Daughter that he has played “thousands” of time since. In a feature article that appeared in SitNews in November of 2010, Shay himself had noted that sometimes it’s hard to tell where Kurt Von Ohlson stopped and he began.

A charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Possession of Child Pornography is a Class C Felony Offense. 

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