Former Manassas City police sergeant convicted of possession of child pornography

Former Manassas City Police Department Sergeant Wayne Carlo Bombara Jr., 47, of Manassas Park, pleaded guilty this week to 15 counts of possession of child pornography in Prince William County Circuit Court.

Attorney General Mark R. Herring made the announcement after the guilty plea was accepted by Circuit Court Judge Tracy C. Hudson.

Bombara will be sentenced on Feb. 11, 2022.

“Any individual who robs children of their innocence through child pornography, regardless of what they do for a living, must be held accountable for committing these heinous crimes, but especially when that individual is a law enforcement officer who has sworn to protect his community,” Herring said. “I want to thank my team for their commitment and dedication to keeping dangerous individuals off our streets and out of our communities and I appreciate the hard work of our local and state partners on this and other cases.”

Evidence presented in court showed that Bombara had uploaded child pornographic images onto his online account in Adobe Lightroom, which is a photography program designed for saving and editing photos. The investigation revealed that he had uploaded and saved approximately 150 images depicting the sexual exploitation of minor females.

Officers subsequently executed a search warrant on Bombara’s residence, where they seized several of the defendant’s electronic devices. A subsequent forensic examination of the devices revealed saved child pornographic images and child pornography activity dating as far back as 2011.

Bombara was employed as a sergeant with the Manassas City Police Department when he committed the crimes. As part of the plea, Bombara will have to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction where he works or resides following imprisonment.

The child pornography recovered in this case involved children who have been identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as abuse victims in prior law enforcement investigations.

This case was investigated by Virginia State Police, as part of the Northern Virginia – D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant Attorney General Melissa Chong of Attorney General Herring’s Computer Crime Section is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Commonwealth, with cooperation from the Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.