GRAY – Maine State Police are investigating a case of child pornography with the twist that the person being investigated is the one who reported it.

Last week, a woman called a state police trooper to report that she had accidentally downloaded and viewed child porn on her computer.

After speaking with officials from the Maine Computer Crimes Task Force, Trooper Thomas Pappas learned that the type of pornography that was viewed is difficult to download by accident.

The trooper went to the woman’s home and attempted to convince her to turn over her computer voluntarily, police said. The woman declined, telling the trooper that he did not need to investigate the matter because the FBI was already on the case.

There is no evidence that the FBI is involved, police said.

Pappas obtained a search warrant and seized the computer. He turned it over to a superior officer who, after an examination of the hard drive, determined there was enough evidence to prosecute the woman for possession of child pornography.

On Wednesday, the computer was in the hands of the task force. After investigators examine the contents of the hard drive, Pappas said the case would be turned over to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.

Because the woman has not been charged, she was not identified.

Pappas said the case is rare both in that it was reported by the suspect herself and that child porn possession among women is uncommon.