BUCKHANNON — On Wednesday, Former Buckhannon Mayor and current Councilman David McCauley was arrested for the alleged creation and possession of Child Pornography.
McCauley was arrested at his Buckhannon Home at the corner of Meade Street and was indicted by a federal grand jury for, “enticing a teenage boy aged 17 years to be involved in sexually explicit exposure for photo and video production.”
McCauley who is currently age 66, is charged with a total of two counts of production and one count of possession of child pornography.
“The indictment alleges that McCauley enticed a 17-year-old boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct for photo and video production,” the press release states. “The indictment further charges McCauley with knowingly possessing illegal images on his computer.”
Councilman McCauley’s home was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in September of 2022. McCauley formerly served as the General Legal Counsel and Senior Lecturer at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
While facing one charge of production, McCauley faces 15 to 30 years in prison for each of the production charges and up to 10 years on the possession charge. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pittsburgh Police Department, and the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office.
The Buckhannon City Council issued a statement, acknowledging the federal grand jury’s indictment, stating, “The City of Buckhannon is aware that council member David W. McCauley has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges. The City fully supports the judicial system and respects the dedication of the federal grand jury system. Mr. McCauley was elected to a four-year term on the city council in 2022. At this time, the City has no further comments regarding the matter.”
According to WV Code §6-6-7, city councilmembers may be removed “by a duly enacted resolution of the governing body of the municipality which sets forth therein the name and office of the challenged officer, the alleged wrongful acts, the dates the alleged acts occurred and the grounds for removal as provided in this article.” This grants the Buckhannon City Council the authority to impeach or remove McCauley from his position as a Councilman.