The U.S. Federal Building, Post Office and Courthouse in Burlington on Nov. 20, 2009. File photo by Mfwills via Wikimedia Commons BURLINGTON — A U.S. Border Patrol agent arrested late last year on a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material has been jailed for violating his release conditions by allegedly lying on a form related to obtaining a firearm.  Joshua Hartness, of Colebrook, New Hampshire, pleaded not guilty in December in federal court in Burlington to a charge of possessing child sexual abuse materials. He was released on conditions, including that he not possess any firearms or be charged with a new crime.  A one-paragraph indictment brought against Hartness stated he possessed one or more images of child sexual abuse materials between May 22, 2022, and Aug. 26, 2022. At the time of his arrest in December, neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont, which is prosecuting the case, would confirm that Hartness worked for the Border Patrol. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection did issue a statement in January in response to questions from VTDigger that acknowledged the arrest of a Border Patrol agent working in the Swanton sector in Vermont but did not specifically name Hartness. “The Border Patrol Agent has been on leave since the arrest,” the statement added, referring all further questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.A person with the name Joshua Hartness has a LinkedIn profile listing his employment as a Border Patrol agent in Beecher Falls in Vermont. According to court filings in the case, Hartness was arrested in Beecher Falls on Dec. 20. Hartness was back late Friday afternoon in federal court in Burlington for allegedly violating his conditions of release.Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt, the prosecutor, told the court that on March 12 Hartness “attempted to take possession” of a “commemorative lever-action rifle” at the Norseman Armory in Colebrook, New Hampshire.During the hearing, Ophardt said Hartness was a Border Patrol agent and described the firearm as a “fully operable” rifle designed to mark the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Border Patrol.On a required form to obtain the firearm, Hartness checked a box stating that he was not a person “under indictment” for a felony, despite having been arrested and indicted late last year on the charge of possessing child sexual abuse materials, accoding to a filing from the prosecutor.A background check caught the discrepancy, Ophardt said in court, and Hartness was arrested, leading to Friday’s hearing for allegedly violating the conditions of his release. Emily Kenyon, a federal public defender representing Hartness, argued in court Friday for her client’s release.Kenyon said Hartness had ordered the rifle prior to his indictment. She said Hartness reported that he had told his probation officer who had been monitoring Hartness on his release about ordering the firearm. The defense attorney also told the judge her client had been on conditions of release for several months with “no issues.”Judge Geoffrey Crawford agreed to the prosecutor’s request to revoke Hartness’ release on conditions, resulting in Hartness being detained in custody as the case against him proceeds. Hartness was listed Monday as incarcerated at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, according to the Vermont Department of Corrections website.  Read the story on VTDigger here: Border Patrol agent jailed while facing federal child sexual abuse material charge. ...read more read less