Neighbors shocked after former Lynden cop arrested on child porn charges

Don Glunt (Photo: LinkedIn)



LYNDEN, Wash. -- A former Lynden police officer who also had been an activist in a nonprofit group fighting human trafficking was arrested Friday on child porn charges.

The Washington State Patrol said he was allegedly trading cell phone images with a 16-year-old girl in Texas.

Donald Glunt, 57, a 34-year veteran with the Lynden Police Department who recently resigned, was taken into custody without incident, the Washington State Patrol said.

Glunt described himself on his LinkedIn page as being a co-training coordinator for the church-based nonprofit group Hope4Justice, which is aimed at combating sex trafficking.

According to the Washington State Patrol, the investigation originated after officials with the Lynden Police Department discovered images on Glunt’s city-owned cell phone while conducting an internal administrative investigation. On Wednesday, Lynden Police Chief Jack Foster asked the State Patrol to conduct a criminal investigation into the matter.

Detective with the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children’s Task Force reviewed digital evidence and interviewed Glunt, which led to his arrest Friday.

"The investigation revealed the suspect was trading images with a 16-year-old girl in Texas," a State Patrol news release said. "Law enforcement authorities in Texas assisted detectives by interviewing the underage victim. Additional forensic review of various digital media devices seized as evidence is ongoing."



Neighbors of Glunt said Friday night the charges were shocking.

“I can’t even put it into words. When you are my age, 60, with a 16-year-old girl, I mean, you know, it’s hard to get your head around that,” neighbor Matt Magrath said. “It’s a small community. Everybody knows him. It brings a lot of embarrassment and shame.”

Neighbor Dan Dunnigan said, “You got to know anything you do these days online or on a cell phone, they are going to figure it out.”

Dunnigan said the allegations are even more disturbing because the accused is a former police officer.

“Being a police officer, it’s breaking the trust of the public when you do child pornography thing,” Dunnigan said.

Glunt was booked into the Skagit County Jail on charges of dealing and possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and viewing of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Additional charges are possible pending the forensic analysis of the digital media devices.