Long Beach cab driver had child porn on cellphone, police say

A Long Beach taxi driver was arraigned Tuesday in Long Beach City Court, one day after being arrested and charged with five counts of possession of sexual performance by a child younger than 16 years old, authorities said.

Thomas J. Stanford, 38, was being held on $10,000 bond or $5,000 cash and is due back in court June 19, court records show.

His attorney, Mitchell Barnett of Garden City, declined to comment.

Long Beach police said Stanford was arrested Monday at police headquarters after detectives recovered thousands of pornographic images and videos, "many of which appear to depict children less than sixteen years old," from the defendant's cellphone. The images were discovered, police said, during the execution of a search warrant related to an investigation into an unspecified, "unrelated matter."

That investigation remains ongoing, police said.

An examination of the phone by the Long Beach Police Technical Assistance Response Unit recovered the images and videos, police said.

Police said that as a result of the arrest Stanford's taxi license, which he obtained in 2016, had been revoked.

Police do not believe Stanford's work as a cabbie played any role in the matter.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”