City of Portland, OR
04/20/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/20/2026 12:20
Firefighter Linked to Online Child Exploitation Investigation
Label: Press release
A Portland firefighter was booked into jail following a months-long criminal investigation.
Published
April 20, 2026 10:58 am
In this article
An investigation initiated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has led to the identification of a Portland firefighter in connection with the upload and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
On August 26, 2025, the Portland Police Bureau's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit reviewed a report from an online platform regarding illegal content uploads. Investigators identified multiple related accounts and traced associated IP activity to a Portland fire station, where the material was uploaded. Through investigative practices, detectives identified Portland Fire & Rescue firefighter Andrew J. Ligatich, 43, as the individual connected to the accounts.
On Monday, April 20, 2026, Ligatich turned himself in and he was lodged in the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) on the following charges: Encouraging Child Sex Abuse in the First Degree (three counts) and Using a Child in Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct (two counts).
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact [email protected] and reference case number 25-803712.
No further information will be released at this time.
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City of Portland, OR published this content on April 20, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 20, 2026 at 18:20 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]