A former Plymouth County correction officer living in Wareham appeared in Wareham District Court for a hearing on Nov. 6 concerning his arrest on two counts of possession of child pornography back in May.

According to published reports, Patrick Romulus, 47, of 21 Winslow Lane, had an external hard drive in his bedroom safe and an LG tablet which contained thousands of the graphic files including video. 

Bail for Romulus was set at $5,000 following his arraignment in May, which he posted. The court also required Romulus to wear a GPS tracking device and have no contact with children under the age of 14.

Romulus’ Nov.6 appearance in Wareham District Court is the first in a series of compliance and election hearings which will take place before a formal trial date is set. During these hearings, all evidence used in a case is handed over to the accused. The accused may then decide if he wants a trial by a jury or a judge alone.

State Police in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began their investigation into Romulus in May when a state trooper traced an IP address associated with a suspected child pornography file back to Romulus’ account. The Task Force executed a search warrant for Romulus’ home on May 21.

Investigators reportedly informed Romulus that they were looking into child pornography which had been disseminated from a computer at the home’s address. According to the criminal complaint, Romulus raised his hand when asked if he knew who was responsible.

Investigators say the files recovered from Romulus’ home depicted girls as young as 4 or 5 years old.

As of May, Romulus was no longer employed by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office.

His next compliance and election date is set for Dec. 19.