Updated 7:23 p.m., 12/11/13
(CNN) - U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander’s chief of staff was arrested on Wednesday on child pornography related charges, federal prosecutors said.
Jesse Ryan Loskarn, 35, was held pending a planned hearing on Thursday in federal court in Washington, according to a Justice Department statement.
"I am stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned," Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, said in a statement earlier in the day, noting that his office is cooperating in the investigation.
Loskarn’s arrest by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service
was based on probable cause for possession and distribution of child pornography, the Justice Department said.
He was replaced in Alexander’s office.
No other details about the case were available.