By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First
A U.S. Postal Service employee has been ordered to appear in Vermont Superior Court in Barre on child pornography charges following a raid at his home, officials said.
Joshua Pierce, 34, had his home in Northfield searched by state, federal, county and local law enforcement on Friday, officials said. Few details were known as to what happened leading up to the court-ordered search.
The U.S. Postal Service website lists Pierce as Postmaster for the town of Williamstown as of Aug. 24, 2024. He was the third postmaster named in 2024 for the town, the website said.
Repeated attempts to reach Pierce were unsuccessful on Saturday. Two phone numbers listed for him were out of commission. It was unknown if Pierce had a defense lawyer for the case.
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office, which has a special division that handles elaborate child pornography cases and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations are leading the case.
Also part of the early morning raid at the mobile home on West Hill Road were officers from Randolph and Burlington Police.
Northfield allowed authorities to use its police station to process Pierce, who was eventually released with a court citation.
Attempts during the weekend to learn more about the unannounced police raid were limited.
Multiple area residents alerted Vermont News First to the raid, which surprised some people.