Federal prosecutors and the FBI in Connecticut are investigating whether a high-ranking staff member at one of the country's most venerable Anglican churches possessed child pornography, sources tell NBC News.
The sources say that earlier this month the FBI searched a building on the grounds of Christ Church in Greenwich, Conn., after obtaining information that allegedly implicates the church's long-time music director, Robert Tate, in a child pornography case.
A grand jury is convening in the case, and NBC has learned that other top church officials have been called to testify. No charges have been filed against Tate or any church officials.
A church representative referred all questions to the church's attorney, Eugene Riccio of Bridgeport, who declined comment. Kevin J. O'Connor, the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, also declined comment, as did the FBI.
Tate has been removed from the church’s official Web site.
Located in one of the country's most wealthy communities, Christ Church in Greenwich has attracted an affluent membership since its inception in the 1830s.
Former President George H.W. Bush attended services in his youth and, as president, returned to the church in 1992 for the funeral of his mother, a church member for decades who was married to the late Sen. Prescott Bush, R-Conn.
A Christ Church minister reportedly signed the baptism records of President George W. Bush, who was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1946.