By Andrea Swayne
Meghan Breanna Alt, 25, of Irvine, was charged on Friday, Oct. 9, with multiple counts of child pornography and lewd acts on a child, authorities said.
According to an Orange County District Attorney’s press release, Alt has been charged with “one felony count of possession and control of child pornography, three felony counts of lewd act upon a child under 14, and a sentencing enhancement allegation for substantial sexual conduct with a child.”
The child pornography consisted of photos of a 4-year-old female family member of Alt’s taken between Jan. 1 and Oct. 7, showing the child posed in a sexually explicit manner. The photos were sent via cell phone, in exchange for cash and gifts, to a Marine stationed in Southern California, the release said.
Investigators began working on the case after receiving information from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Alt was arrested at around noon on Oct. 7, when the multi-agency Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force conducted a traffic stop in San Diego County, booked into Orange County Jail and held on $100,000 bail.
According to Lt. Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, in a subsequent interview, Alt confessed to producing and electronically distributing the child porn involving the 4-year-old.
It is also believed that Alt advertised massages services online and then at some point during delivery of such services would negotiate sex for money, often while her children were present, Hallock said.
Alt was a former San Clemente resident and volunteered at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in both San Clemente and Irvine where she had access to children.
In 2014, Alt was crowned Mrs. Orange County and competed in the Mrs. California Pageant.
If convicted, Alt faces a maximum sentence of 14 years and eight months in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration.
The investigation is ongoing and the DA, Orange County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations are asking the public’s help in identifying potential additional victims.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Carroll of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the OCSD Special Victims Unit at 714.647.7418 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Mark Gutierrez at 714.347.8794. Anonymous tips may also be phoned into Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS (855.847.6227) or online at www.occrimestoppers.org.
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