The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged former LSU Police Department officer Thomas Fife on Wednesday with one count of possession of child pornography.David Dugas, U.S. Attorney for the Louisiana Middle District, said he is scheduling an arraignment where Fife can plead guilty or not guilty.If convicted, Fife faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both, Dugas said.The charges are for possession of “visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, the producing of which involved the use of minors engaging in such conduct and which were produced using materials that had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce,” according to the federal bill of information.A bill of information is an accusation from charges made by the U.S. attorney. It is different from an indictment, which is an accusation made by a grand jury.Cheney Joseph, Paul M. Hebert Law School vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and former U.S. Attorney, said the federal courts can only file a bill of information if the defendant is willing to waive his right to a grand jury indictment.”A lot of times, when there is an agreement between the government and the defendant to enter a guilty plea, rather than having to go to the grand jury, the defendant will waive indictment and allow a bill of information to be filed,” Joseph said. “And then the defendant will enter a guilty plea.”Joseph said when the defendant normally waives the right to a grand jury indictment, it is in the context of a guilty plea.But in theory, Joseph said the defendant could plead not guilty and a trial could be underway.Dugas said if Fife is convicted of possession of child pornography, he would be classified as a sex offender.”Under Louisiana law, he would be required to register [as a sex offender],” Dugas said. “Federal law would also require registration, too.”The FBI had been investigating the case since July.An LSUPD officer assigned to review data logged by a monitoring software installed on all LSUPD computers noticed on July 10 that a computer at LSUPD headquarters, under the user name “tfife,” was “viewing still images of animated child pornography,” according to a federal affidavit.Numerous still images of child pornography were accessed on Fife’s computer between July 9 and July 19.Along with Fife’s computer, the FBI also seized software, e-mail messages, chat logs, cameras, film, videotapes and any other photographic equipment, among others, according to a federal search warrant. Fife, who was with LSUPD for 21 years, was placed on administrative leave July 19 and resigned on July 23.—-Contact J.J. Alcantara at [email protected]