Aug. 02--The Central Point police lieutenant who heads the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force has resigned in the midst of an investigation into possible wrongdoing.
Josh Moulin resigned Monday, said Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston.
Huddleston said that before Moulin's resignation, the Central Point Police Department had consulted with his office and Oregon State Police about possible wrongdoing by Moulin and OSP agreed to investigate.
On June 12, Huddleston asked the Oregon Department of Justice's criminal justice department to determine from the OSP investigation whether any laws were broken and to prosecute the case if necessary.
Huddleston said he selected the DOJ to conduct the investigation because Moulin had worked closely with Jackson County prosecutors in his capacity as the task force leader. Moulin and other task force members also have worked with other counties, Huddleston said.
The DOJ was the most impartial agency to "review and determine if there has been any violations of criminal laws," he said.
Huddleston declined to provide any details about the allegations against Moulin. He said he has no reason to believe that any of the issues under investigation would lead him to conclude investigations by Moulin or the high-tech crimes task force had been compromised.
Central Point police Chief Kris Allison did not immediately return phone calls from the Mail Tribune on Wednesday.
OSP spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings declined to comment on the case other than to say the investigation is ongoing.
The Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force is based in Central Point. It goes back to 2005, when Moulin approached the former Central Point police chief and other city officials about forming a high-tech crimes unit.
Other agencies heard about the work the department was doing and asked for assistance and training. For the next two years, Moulin worked with the other agencies by himself.
In 2007 Medford police assigned Detective Brandon Bloomfield to the task force full-time. MPD's inclusion brought in more equipment and resources. By 2008, the then-small division was providing services to 53 law enforcement agencies around the state. Eventually the task force was contacted by the FBI.
By 2011, the task force had grown to nine members from multiple agencies, including Grants Pass, Medford, Ashland, Klamath Falls and Central Point police departments, the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Jackson County District Attorney's Office.
It is the only nonfederal law enforcement agency in the U.S. that solely does digital forensics and is accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors.
Huddleston said the task force is currently being led by Miles Wiltrout, a special agent with the FBI who is a member of the unit.
Copyright 2012 - Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
