Posted Tuesday, December 20, 2016 7:36 pm

PITTSFIELD — A former Adams police officer has been ordered to spend up to 12 years in prison for his second conviction on child pornography charges.

Alan C. Vigiard, 51, of Adams, admitted Tuesday to having and sharing child pornography on a number of personal devices.

In 2011, Vigiard was sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to 10 counts of possessing child pornography. He had been downloading and viewing the images at the Adams Police Station while he was on duty.

He was released after about a year and placed on probation for five years, during which time he was required to receive counseling and was prohibited from possessing a computer or phone with internet access. He was ordered not to access pornography or child erotica, and probation officers were permitted to search any computer or media device on which he could store pornographic materials.

In October, state police detectives received a tip that a pornographic image of a girl, approximately 12 to 14 years old, had been uploaded to a chat room in May. Police traced the image to Vigiard's home computer.

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His internet account was deactivated on June 1, about a week after the image was discovered, but Vigiard told police he had recently gotten internet access again.

Investigators later subpoenaed Vigiard's phone records, which showed he was accessing the internet from January into October of this year. In early November, police with a warrant searched Vigiard's home and vehicle.

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During his interview with police, Vigiard admitted he had internet access in his apartment and used a tablet and cellphone to access pornography. He said during a bout of depression in January, he became self-destructive and started watching adult and child pornography.

He described visiting chat rooms, exchanging porn with others, and saving images on his tablet. He told police he uploaded images to a chat room, but was eventually blocked after uploading illicit images, investigators said.

Vigiard said he thought he'd deleted the child pornography he had downloaded, but if the files were still accessible, they'd be on a pair of computer tablets he owned.

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The tablets, a USB thumb drive containing adult and child pornography, a cellphone, and multiple DVDs and magazines featuring adult pornography were seized during a search of his apartment.

Vigiard pleaded guilty in Berkshire Superior Court on Tuesday to two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of dissemination of child pornography.

Judge Daniel Ford sentenced him to 10 to 12 years in prison, to be served at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction.

The investigation was conducted by state police detectives assigned to the District Attorney's Office and members of the Adams Police Department.

Reach staff writer Bob Dunn at 413-496-6249 or @BobDunn413 on Twitter.