BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2014—A Russian national was arrested today on child pornography charges after his arrest last year outside the home of a U.S. dignitary led to a search of his laptop computer, local and federal officials said today.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, Special Agent in Charge David Hall of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Boston Field Office, and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans announced that Boston Police in the company of Diplomatic Security Service agents this morning arrested VLADIMIR ROMANOV (D.O.B. 12/28/83) on a warrant stemming from his Feb. 21 indictment on six counts of possession of child pornography.  He is expected to be arraigned later this morning in the Magistrate’s Session of Suffolk Superior Court.

Today’s arrest came as the result of a months-long investigation that began when Diplomatic Security agents began investigating Romanov after his arrest last year outside the Boston home of a federally protected U.S. official.

Romanov came to the attention of Diplomatic Security agents on July 14, 2013, when he parked a vehicle in a no parking zone on Beacon Hill and begin taking photographs in the vicinity of the U.S. official’s home, officials said.  Romanov allegedly refused to identify himself when confronted by federal agents and was subsequently arrested by Boston Police officers on a charge of drinking alcohol in public.

Officers conducted an inventory of Romanov’s vehicle prior to towing it from the scene and discovered an open container of alcohol and a modified Ruger pellet gun that was found to be loaded with a carbon dioxide cartridge, prosecutors said.

Based on information they obtained subsequent to Romanov’s arrest, Diplomatic Security agents obtained a federal warrant to search two computers found inside Romanov’s home and discovered sexually explicit images of children on the hard drive of one laptop computer, prosecutors said.  Because they were initially investigating a potential threat to a federally protected official, investigators sought additional warrants to search the computer for contraband images.  That forensic examination additionally revealed multiple specimens of what authorities allege to be child pornography, officials said.

Assistant District Attorney Luke Goldworm of the DA’s Child Protection Unit led the grand jury proceedings that resulted in indictments against Romanov.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.