A lieutenant colonel who pleaded guilty in federal court to accessing child pornography will face a court-martial hearing in August, the Judge Advocate General's office announced.
Lt. Col. Scott Meakin, 39, a combat systems officer with the 563rd Rescue Group of the 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, faces charges that he communicated indecent language and an image on the Internet.
"During 2013 and 2014, Meakin entered multiple internet chat rooms and discussed graphic sexual abuse of children with other individuals," said a statement from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, where Meakin had been assigned.
Meakin also sent a picture of male genitals to other chat room users, according a Davis-Monthan spokesperson who referenced official charge records.
Neither Meakin nor his legal representative could be reached for comment.
Meakin is facing a court-martial for conduct unbecoming an officer for his activities in the chat rooms. But he has already been convicted in an Arizona federal court for viewing lewd photos.
In February, he pleaded guilty to "knowing access to child pornography." According to federal court records, Meakin had downloaded at least a dozen images of nude girls, under the age of 12, in sexually explicit positions.
According to the federal prosecutor's records, the photos all included the logo of LS Magazine, a Ukrainian photography studio that took nude pictures of girls between 8- and 16-years-old before it was shut down by authorities in 2004.
Meakin is scheduled to be sentenced on the federal charges in August, likely only a few days after his court-martial hearing. He has also been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, according to federal court records.
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and lifetime supervised release on his federal conviction, according to federal court records.
Meakin was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2012. His previous assignments include MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and Osan Air Base in South Korea.
At Davis-Monthan, Meakin helped run Angel Thunder, the military's largest combat search and rescue exercise. He joined the Air Force in 1997, according to biographical data provided by the service.
