Porn arrest shocks Children’s Museum

? The chief operating officer of the National Children’s Museum in Washington was arrested Tuesday on child pornography charges, accused of using his work computer to send explicit images to others – including an undercover New York City detective.

Robert A. Singer, 49, was arrested at his home in Falls Church, Va., on charges that he sent the pornographic images to a detective posing as a 33-year-old mother and her 12-year-old daughter, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said.

Singer was identified in the criminal complaint as a spokesman for the Capital Children’s Museum in Washington, which closed in September 2004 to prepare for renovations. The museum, which plans to reopen in 2012 as the National Children’s Museum, said in a statement that officials were “horrified” by the events.

Singer was charged in Manhattan federal court with five counts of distributing child pornography in interstate commerce. He was detained Tuesday pending a bail hearing later in the week. If convicted, he could face a prison term of up to 40 years on the most serious charges.