A former aide to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander hanged himself in his parents’ basement in Maryland as he awaited trial on child pornography charges, officials said Friday.

Ryan Loskarn, 35, was pronounced dead in Sykesville, Md., just after noon Thursday, said Bruce Goldfarb, a spokesman for the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. He said the death was ruled a suicide.

Family members called police after finding Loskarn unresponsive in the basement, where he had been living, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on its website.

Maj. Phillip Kasten said the sheriff’s office may not release additional details until the investigation is finished. He said that could take several weeks.

A federal judge had allowed Loskarn to live with his parents while awaiting trial on charges of possession and attempted distribution of child pornography. He was required to be electronically monitored.

Loskarn had been chief of staff for Alexander, R-Tennessee, for two years before his arrest. Loskarn was fired immediately after his arrest.

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“For everyone involved, this is a sad and tragic story from beginning to end,” Alexander said in a statement.

David Schertler, a Washington lawyer whose firm represented Loskarn, said the firm did not have an immediate comment on Loskarn’s death.

A federal prosecutor warned more than a month ago that Loskarn might be at risk of self-harm.

At his detention hearing Dec. 16, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mi Yung Park said Loskarn had said after his arrest that his life was over. She said the comments suggested Loskarn might harm himself. For that reason, she asked Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola to keep Loskarn in custody.


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