Former Kansas sheriff’s lieutenant arrested by KBI in child porn and sex crime case

A former sheriff’s lieutenant in western Kansas has been arrested in a child pornography and sex crime case that started while he was still a law enforcement officer.

Blaine D. Dryden, 62, of WaKeeney, was arrested on a warrant Wednesday by Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents. The state agency said the arrest was for charges of aggravated internet trading of child pornography and multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Investigators allege the crimes happened while Dryden was employed as a lieutenant with the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office. The incidents happened between November 2019 and June 2020.

“When made aware of the allegations, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office cooperated fully in the investigation, and immediately placed Dryden on administrative leave,” the KBI said in a news release. His employment ended in July.

Dryden was booked into the Graham County jail with bond set at $750,000.

Dryden was previously the president of the Kansas State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police as recently as 2018, records show. Before becoming a sheriff’s deputy, Dryden spend 26 years as a Hays police officer. He claimed in a federal lawsuit against the city that he was fired in 2011 for union activities. The case was later settled.