By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- An Ogdensburg Police Officer facing child pornography charges remains behind bars, but has now retired from the police force.

Harry McCarthy, 55, who has yet gone to trial, remained on the city payroll for nearly a year after he was charged with uploading an image of a prepubescent female having sex.

His annual salary is $73,111 not including benefits.

Ogdensburg City Manager Sarah Purdy said he retired from the police department June 30 and is no longer a city employee. Regardless of whether or not McCarthy is found guilty, he will likely receive his pension.

Purdy said she does not believe felony convictions invalidate a municipal employee’s retirement.

“I know legislation was introduced last year to take pensions away from convicted municipal employees but I don't think it went anywhere,” Purdy said in an emailed response.

McCarthy, a veteran officer on the Ogdensburg police force, was charged with promoting a sexual performance involving a child last summer.

Franklin County District Attorney Gary Pasqua says his office still intends to prosecute McCarthy on charges after a plea deal could not be negotiated with the defense.

Pasqua confirmed that McCarthy was still jailed.

It is possible that federal charges could also be brought against McCarthy, but Pasqua said that currently the only charges against McCarthy are those brought forward by his office.

Although originally released under probation supervision, McCarthy was jailed after violating terms of his released when he allegedly approached and engaged in conversation with a 16 year-old male, who has an active order of protection against McCarthy.

McCarthy’s original arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit and Troop B, in cooperation with the City of Ogdensburg Police Department.

McCarthy was apparently caught by Google's system for monitoring child pornography. One image of a prepubescent female having vaginal sex with an adult male was uploaded May 19 at 8:26 p.m. from McCarthy’s home, according to court documents.

Court documents say the image was uploaded using the Google Gmail service, with an email address of Loverbouy.girl@gmail.com. Google apparently notified the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children of the child porn image and the addresses that were used to access the email account.

An order of protection was also issued for McCarthy's girlfriend and her children.

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary E. Rain and County Court Judge Jerome J. Richards have both recused themselves from the case due to personal conflicts associated with McCarthy’s police work. Because of the conflicts Pasqua and Franklin County Court Judge Derek P. Champagne are handling the case.