Former City Official Busted For Child Porn

WEST COUNTY – Around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, members of the Precinct 5 Constable’s Office arrested a former high ranking public official after they say pornographic images of children were found on his laptop computer.

Former Magnolia City Administrator Ryan Cardwell Kelley, 53, is charged with 4 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

According to Pct. 5 Constable David Hill, a local woman found Kelley’s laptop computer in the parking lot of the old Magnolia Depot, now home to the Magnolia Historical Society. Investigators have theorized Kelley had the computer on his hood and was somehow distracted and drove away without removing it, never realizing it fell off the vehicle and was left behind. The woman who discovered it opened the computer to try and find the owner’s identity so it could be returned, but she found child pornography instead. She then handed over the laptop to law enforcement. Kelley was arrested in the same parking lot where he left the laptop.

Constable Hill said Pct. 5 Sgt. Urban worked closely with investigators from the Precinct 3 office of Constable Ryan Gable and the Precinct 4 office of Constable Rowdy Hayden, to put together a package that resulted in the four felony charges.

Kelley, an attorney who attended the University of Texas, held the position with the City of Magnolia from January 2008 to July 2010 when he was let go following his arrest during a DWI crackdown in April. Kelley pleaded guilty to Driving While Intoxicated in April of 2010 and was sentenced to time served (3 days in jail) plus a fine and court costs. His license to practice law is currently invalid because of failure to complete continuing education requirements.

Kelley was booked into the Montgomery County Jail in Conroe with bond set at $400,000.