
For almost a decade, ABC News had many of its programs produced by Emmy Award-winning producer James Gordon Meek. Meek began his career as a news writer in the 1990s, when he wrote for the CD-ROM magazine Blender. During his years in the news industry, Meek wrote for the news website Gridlock, as well as for the New York Daily News. Then, in 2011, Meek left the Daily News to serve as a counter-terrorism investigator for the House Committee on Homeland Security. He began producing for ABC News in 2013, working on programs like ABC News Special Report, 20/20, and ABC News Nightline.
On April 22, 2022, the FBI raided Meek’s home after they were informed that Meek’s DropBox account was full of material depicting child sexual abuse. The FBI had been contacted by the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, who had received the initial tip. Meek was officially arrested and charged with transporting child pornography on January 31, 2023. FBI reports state that, during their investigation, they found hundreds of images and videos depicting the abuse. Many of the children were under the age of 12.
It is now being reported that Meek has pleaded guilty to transportation and possession of child sexual abuse materials. Per a press release from the Department of Justice:
A former journalist pleaded guilty today to transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, while visiting South Carolina in February 2020, James Gordon Meek, 53, of Arlington, Virginia, used an online messaging platform on his iPhone to send and receive images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and to discuss his sexual interest in children… Meek brought the iPhone containing the child sexual abuse material back with him when he returned to Virginia.
Meek is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 29. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Neither Meek, ABC News, nor The Walt Disney Company — which owns ABC — has commented on the case. No comment or statement has been released since Meek’s guilty plea. Reports indicate that Meek made a deal and pleaded guilty to two lesser charges in order to avoid going to trial.
Meek had worked for ABC News for nine years before the raid on his home. During that time, he was nominated for an Emmy Award four times. Meek continued to work for ABC after his home was raided, but resigned shortly after his arrest. After he was released, he went off the grid and tried to remain out of the public eye.