A Rutland District Court judge has decided to release the name of a city police officer involved in a child pornography probe.

However, Judge Thomas Zonay said in his decision issued Wednesday that he will wait until 1 p.m. on Friday to make the officer's name public to give time for a possible appeal to the state's Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, Zonay released more than 30 pages of documents related to a search warrant executed at the police department in September. Those documents described an investigation that started in August after state police discovered more than 150 images of suspected child pornography on a computer issued to the officer.

Additional images, discs, DVDs and VHS tapes of adult pornographic material and suspected child pornography were obtained through execution of a search warrant at the department on Sept. 22, 2009.

Zonay redacted the name and identifying information about the officer after hearing arguments Tuesday from a lawyer representing the officer who was identified in court only as "John Doe."

But after considering the arguments, which weighed heavily on privacy rights and the stigmatizing effects the release of the officer's name would have, Zonay decided Wednesday that exceptional circumstances didn't exist to continue withholding the name.

"To afford such a right to a target would not only run counter to the limitations on participation set forth by the (Supreme Court) ... but would also add a level of closure and secrecy where transparency is required," the judge wrote.

Regarding the potential damage to the officer's reputation, the judge concluded that the potential stigma for the officer was not significantly different than what any other subject of a criminal investigation would face in the same position.

"The issue for the court is whether there are 'exceptional circumstances' specific to this case .... The circumstances and impact advanced by counsel are not exceptional. Rather, they are typical for any search pertaining to the underlying subject matter. Indeed, a stigma and impact may be expected to attach in any case where a warrant is executed, irrespective of the nature of the crime being investigated."