It’s been tough sledding of late for Pothole Pete Buttigieg, the erstwhile small-town mayor, former future first gay president of the United States, and current secretary of transportation.

One month ago, a catastrophic train derailment in Palestine, Ohio, exposed him anew as in over his head and out of touch. And now we get word that a self-described “buddy” of his has been arrested on charges of child pornography.

As The Washington Post reports, “College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn, a long-serving public official and advocate for environmental and social justice issues in his Maryland city, was arrested Thursday morning and has been charged with 56 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography.”

As the Post details, the specifics of the case are sickening:

Authorities have accused Wojahn of uploading and sharing dozens of videos to the social media app Kik in early January that depicted explicit sexual acts involving prepubescent boys and adult men. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children flagged the suspicious Kik account to the Prince George’s County police on Feb. 17, authorities said, and investigators obtained a warrant to search Wojahn’s College Park home on Feb. 28. During that search, police said in court documents, Wojahn waived his Miranda rights and told investigators that the Kik account was his. Police also said that Wojahn “advised that he has viewed and possessed files depicting child pornography,” according to court papers.

The Post further notes that the news of Wojahn’s arrest “shocked” the city’s residents, who described him as “a present, reassuring leader during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and an advocate for [wait for it] equity.”

It’s strange, though. The above-cited WaPo story is a comprehensive one, 25 paragraphs in length and 1,134 words long, and yet not one of those words is “Buttigieg.” Nor is one of those words “Democrat.” Same with this article in The Hill, which, unlike the Post, purports to be a credible news source. To its credit, The New York Times, which also covered the story and failed to mention Wojahn’s friendship with Buttigieg, did mention that he’s a Democrat, albeit in the 19th paragraph, fifth from the bottom, well beyond most folks’ willingness to continue reading.

The 47-year-old Wojahn (pronounced WHY-in), who served as mayor for seven years and as a city councilman for eight years prior to that, resigned from office just prior to his arrest. In a statement that can best be described as bizarre, the city of College Park noted that Wojahn’s resignation was effective immediately but never once mentioned the charges against him. It did, however, express its “thanks” to Wojahn “for his many years of dedicated service.”

As for the, er, alleged pedophile’s connection to Buttigieg, here’s how Wojahn described it in a 2019 article in the Washington Blade, which dubs itself America’s LGBTQ news source: “I actually met Mayor Pete Buttigieg shortly after I was elected mayor in 2015. I went to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Winter Meeting in D.C. in January and he was assigned to be my buddy.”

The article continues: “The two continued to talk over the phone and Buttigieg explained the conference to him and what would take place at the meeting. Later, they would both attend a White House reception during the Obama administration where [their two spouses] would meet as well. Buttigieg continued to mentor Wojahn, advising him on how to get the most out of his participation in the conference.”

At the time, Wojahn credited Buttigieg’s mentorship as having helped him land a role as College Park’s “vice chair of city livability and bicycling.”

Buttigieg, a prolific tweeter, tends to speak freely about the systemically racist nature of our nation’s highways and construction sites, but he’s yet to say anything about his friend and fellow former mayor.

As for former Mayor Wojahn, he must be deeply religious because he’s asking for our prayers: “Many of you have already reached out with well wishes and thoughts, and I am eternally grateful. I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health,” he wrote. “I ask that you continue to keep me and my family in your prayers.”

No mention of any prayers, though, for the poor, helpless, and monstrously exploited children victimized throughout his kiddie porn collection.