A 45-year-old Portsmouth man, research professor at the U.S. Naval War College and Director of the Mahan Advanced Research Project, has been charged with possessing and distributing child pornography.

Members of the Rhode Island State Police's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested Adam Cobb, of 91 Lilac Lane, on a federal warrant for receipt and distribution of child pornorgraphy. The investigation began in January when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that someone from Rhode Island had uploaded pictures of child pornography on Tumblr.com.

Detectives traced the Internet connection used to upload the pictures to Cobb's Lilac Lane address. On March 5, ICAC Task Force Members, along with a member from HSI, with support from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, executed a court-authorized search warrant at his address.

Cobb was not home, but investigators seized laptops and cell phones for forensic examination. Investigators discovered photos and videos of two females on a storage device and computer belonging to Cobb and ICAC members were able to identify the females as juveniles at the time the photos and videos were taken.

Col Steven G. O'Donnell, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, said that HSI offices in Baltimore, Maryland and London, England, assisted with the identification.

Cobb was arrested at his house today without incident.

He made his initial appearance in court before Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan in U.S. District Court in Providence. He was held without bond and no contact orders were issued.