A former police officer and fire official from Falls Township’s Levittown section has been indicted on federal charges related to child sexual abuse material.
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Gary N. Margerum, 68, was indicted last month by a federal grand jury in Philadelphia on charges of distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
The indictment alleges Margerum shared child sexual abuse material across state lines.
Federal authorities seized the 68-year-old man’s iPhone 13 and a storage device, which court papers indicate contained at least a file showing a child under the age of 12.
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Margerum was taken into federal custody on June 18 and pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to federal court records.
A court date in the federal case has been set for late August.
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The federal indictment follows an earlier investigation by Bucks County Detectives that led to charges against Margerum in early April.
Margerum was charged in Bucks County with dissemination of a photo of child sex acts, child pornography, and criminal use of a communication facility. However, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office last week filed that they would not pursue those charges.
The Bucks County investigation began in December after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children contacted county detectives regarding a Kik user suspected of sharing or uploading suspected child sexual abuse material.
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Detectives said they identified Margerum as the suspected account holder.
During the execution of a search warrant at Margerum’s home in early April, detectives wrote in court papers that he admitted to accessing, receiving, and occasionally sharing child sexual abuse material.
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The cases this year are not not Margerum’s first run-in with law enforcement.
In 1988, while serving as a police officer in Tullytown Borough, he was charged with kissing and fondling a 15-year-old girl, for which he received probation and community service. That arrest resurfaced in 2016 and led to his resignation as president of the Falls Township Fire Company.
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In 2018, Margerum and another former fire company official were charged with stealing money from the organization. After a court hearing, he was ordered to repay more than $10,000 to the fire company and was sentenced to probation and community service.
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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