An active-duty U.S. Navy SEAL, accused of possessing child pornography, appeared in court for the first time in Virginia Wednesday.
Petty Officer 1st Class Gregory Kyle Seerden, 31, of San Diego faces several felony counts related to possession of child porn.
NBC 7 learned Wednesday night, this isn't the first time he's been under investigation for inappropriate contact with a minor.
His ex-wife Alica Seerden said the child "had to do a forensic interview and in one of the interviews she told interviewers he had taken inappropriate photos of him and her together."
The San Diego Police Department confirmed they did investigate a 2014 case involving Seerden.
That case was turned over to NCIS whose only response was, "given the current allegations, we're not going to discuss anything concerning Mr. Seerden at this point."
Seerden's ex-wife said the case was closed because of insufficient evidence.
The alleged incident precedes the child pornography charges Seerden is now facing.
On January 17, a woman told a gate sentry at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLCFS) that she had just spent the night with Seerden and was sexually assaulted while intoxicated.
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Seerden is assigned to SEAL Team One based in Coronado, California.
At the time, Seerden was on temporary duty in Virginia.
As part of the investigation into the alleged sexual assault, NCIS investigators seized Seerden’s iPhone 7.
Seerden's commanding officer gave investigators permission to search the phone for text messages, photos, videos, phone logs, and contacts.
When an NCIS Digital Forensic Examiner reviewed the contents of the phone in February, he reported seeing “images of prepubescent children that were naked and engaged in sexual acts, specifically oral sex."
On March 20, a judge approved the search of Seerden’s iPhone 7 for evidence related to child pornography.
Officials allege 78 images were found on the phone that include some depicting bondage of children, according to legal documents.
Video that appeared to be created by the user of the phone, created Jan. 1-2, show a man masturbating next to a sleeping girl who appeared to be 5 or 6 years old, according to the legal document. The face of the male was not visible in the video, investigators said.
Seerden requested a court-appointed attorney at the May 3 hearing. He was told he would be responsible for paying for the attorney beginning in July.
His next hearing was scheduled for May 10.
