Editor’s Note: The man pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and will serve a year of probation. Prosecutors did not move forward with the child pornography charges.
A Bristol Borough man has been arrested following a tip about alleged child pornography from an employee of a local business.
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Last month, a 58-year-old man entered a business on North Oxford Valley Road in Falls Township to renew his vehicle registration. The employee reported that the 58-year-old man approached him and asked for assistance with the renewal process. The witness requested the 58-year-old man’s vehicle insurance information, which the man indicated was stored on his phone, according to authorities.
The 58-year-old man retrieved a black, cell phone from his pants pocket and handed it to the witness. While attempting to maximize the insurance information on the 58-year-old man’s phone, the witness accidentally closed out the image and observed approximately five images of nude girls believed to be between the ages of 7 and 9. The images showed the girls tied up and wearing leather, police said.
According to court papers, the witness stated that they saw these images for about three seconds before pulling up the insurance information again.
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After closing the insurance information for a second time, the witness again observed photos of nude girls and promptly returned the phone to the 58-year-old man, police said.
Following this encounter, the police were called and alerted to what was seen on the phone.
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A search warrant was obtained for the 58-year-old man’s cell phone, and on May 1 at approximately 1:40 p.m., the phone was seized from the man, police said.
A forensic examination of the device revealed files of child pornography, police said.
The 58-year-old man has been taken into custody Thursday morning and charged with possession of child pornography. He was preliminarily arraigned before District Judge Charles Jonas and held on 10 percent of $100,000 bail.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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