SF top political consultant arrested on child porn charges

SAN FRANCISCO -- A prominent San Francisco political consultant was arrested Thursday evening on suspicion of possession and distribution of child pornography, a police spokeswoman said today.

Enrique Pearce, a 41-year-old San Francisco resident, was arrested at about 5 p.m. Thursday when San Francisco police served a search warrant at an address in the Tenderloin neighborhood, according to San Francisco police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan.

Gatpandan said the warrant to search the property, located on McAllister Street near Leavenworth Street, was the culmination of a child pornography investigation.

Police located Pearce and arrested him on suspicion of five felony counts, including possession and distribution of child pornography, possession of over 600 images of child pornography, possession of material involving sexual sadism or sexual masochism, as well as possession of stolen property.

Gatpandan said investigators have not announced what evidence led them to Pearce.

Pearce is in custody and will not be treated be differently because he is a public figure, Gatpandan said.

According to Pearce's LinkedIn profile, he works as a consultant at Left Coast Communications.

Left Coast Communications has worked on political campaigns for U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, as well as San Francisco supervisors Jane Kim and Norman Yee, among others.

In 2007, Pearce established Pearce Law Offices, which handles employment, labor, and contract law, according to the law firm's website. The law firm is located in the same office as Left Coast Communications.

Prior to graduating from the University of California at Berkeley's School of Law, Pearce studied communication at Northwestern University.

According to Pearcelawoffices.com, "In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Pearce has worked in and around politics and government in San Francisco for the past decade. He has worked as a legislative aide to members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and has been regularly hired as a political consultant on a number of campaigns including races for school board, judge, board of supervisors, city attorney, and mayor."