A Falls Township man was arrested Wednesday on allegations he shared child sexual abuse material, according to police.
David Sheldon Roberts, 75, was taken into custody by Bristol Township police and transferred to Falls Township police custody. He was arraigned Wednesday morning before District Judge John Galloway on charges of disseminating photos or films of child sexual abuse, child sexual abuse material, and criminal use of a communication facility.
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According to a police affidavit of probable cause, the investigation began Aug. 2 when a bartender at a Bristol Pike bar called police to report an incident.
The bartender told a Falls Township police corporal that Roberts, a regular patron, had been watching a television show with other customers when they began to comment on a patient’s breasts. Roberts then showed the bartender and other patrons a photograph on his cellphone of a female with exposed breasts. The bartender told police that Roberts claimed the female was 16 years old, authorities said.
When the bartender told Roberts the photograph was child pornography, Roberts responded that the subject was now 18, police said.
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The bartender explained that the photo was still considered child pornography because the subject was 16 at the time the photo was taken, and Roberts subsequently left the bar, according to court papers.
On Sept. 2, police served a search warrant on Roberts’ person and met with him at police headquarters.
During a recorded interview, Roberts stated that he had been to the bar in early August and had shown the bartender a photograph of a topless 18- or 19-year-old woman, police said.
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When asked about the possibility of child pornography on his phone, Roberts stated that he did not know if there was any on the device and that he did not always look at the content people sent him. He said that if child pornography was found, he did not know how it got there, police said.
Roberts said the female in the photo he showed the bartender was from Kentucky and had sent him unsolicited nude photos and videos, according to charging documents.
Police said Roberts provided his phone for analysis.
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On Sept. 3, a search warrant was signed to analyze and download the contents of Roberts’ phone.
Police said they manually viewed the contents of the phone and said they found alleged child sexual abuse material and bestiality.
The phone was then given to the Bucks County Detectives for further review.
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On Sept. 15, police received a forensic download and they found child pornography and bestiality, including photos and videos of adults engaged in sexual intercourse with children, children engaged in sexual acts, child nudity, and adults engaged in sexual acts with animals, law enforcement officials said.
According to the affidavit, text message conversations on the phone showed that Roberts received child sexual abuse material and then disseminated it to another person.
In some of the conversations, Roberts allegedly told other people he knew the juveniles were under 18 and some were under 13. He also reportedly texted some of the juveniles asking for pornographic videos and photos, police said.
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Roberts was sent to Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $1 million bail.
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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