Mercer County Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

| October 22, 2014

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane says a Mercer County man is facing child pornography and related charges.

According to a criminal complaint, 24-year-old Justin Patrick Conway, of Hermitage, Mercer County, has been identified as the suspect.

The criminal complaint states agents successfully downloaded several files, which depicted children under the age of 18 engaged in sexually graphic acts and poses. Investigators were able to track the computer’s IP address and identified Conway’s computer as the source for the graphic files.

A search of Conway’s Hermitage apartment resulted in the seizure of a computer and multiple media storage devices, which upon initial viewing, were found to contain more than 100 files of suspected child pornography, including images of children as young as 6 years old engaged in graphic sexual poses.

Conway is charged with the following offenses:

– four counts of distribution of child pornography
– nine counts of possession of child pornography
– one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 13 at 10:30 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Ronald E. Antos.

Attorney General Kane thanked the Pennsylvania State Police for its assistance with the investigation. The case will be prosecuted in Mercer County by Deputy Attorney General Courtney Butterfield of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.

Kane also announced the recent arrests of five other men on unrelated charges as part of ongoing efforts to target the online sharing, downloading, and distribution of child pornography by suspected child predators.

Attorney General Kane has made cyber safety, specifically protecting kids from online predators, a major priority for her administration. Beyond the distribution of pornography, the Attorney General’s Child Predator Section has made more than a dozen arrests of individuals seeking out children on the internet, including one as young as 5 years old.

Internet safety tips are available on the “Operation Safe Surf” section of www.attorneygeneral.gov. Organizations interested in materials, speakers or presentations should contact the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Section at 1-800-525-7642 or education@attorneygeneral.gov. October is National Cyber Security Month.

The Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section recently unveiled a new tool to report internet predators. Anonymous tips can be sent directly from a cell phone by texting PAKIDS + YOUR TIP to 847411 or through an online complaint form.

Suspected Internet predators can also be reported by calling the Child Predator Hotline at 1-800-385-1044.

The five other suspected child predator arrests are:

• Thomas Cunningham, 38, 25 S. Eastview Ave., Lower Southampton, Bucks County;
• Jeffery Lenda, 20, 4002 Hoyt St., Erie, Erie County;
• William Warnick, 41, 119 Cagwin St., Pittsburgh, Allegheny County;
• Albert Aldham, 74, 129 Maple Ridge Dr., Hawley, Pike County;
and
• David Mason, 28, 803 Pierce St., East Norriton, Montgomery County.

Thomas Cunningham of Bucks County

Agents conducting an online investigation discovered numerous files containing suspected child pornography allegedly downloaded to Cunningham’s computer. Upon executing a search warrant, agents seized his computer, which had multiple files of suspected child pornography. These items were examined at the scene by the Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit.

Cunningham is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

Cunningham was preliminarily arraigned and remanded to Bucks County Prison after failing to post $250,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18, 2014.

The case will be prosecuted in Bucks County by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Elo of the Attorney General’s Child Predator Section. Attorney General Kane thanked the Lower Southampton Police Department for its assistance.

Jeffrey Lenda of Erie County

Lenda was located following a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that an individual was storing suspected child pornography on Microsoft Sky Drive. He consented to a search of his electronic devices, including an Apple iPad and an external hard drive. A preview of those devices revealed several files of apparent child pornography.

Lenda is charged with eight counts of possession of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

The defendant’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:45 p.m, Nov. 3, 2014. Lenda will be prosecuted in Erie County by Deputy Attorney General Courtney Butterfield of the Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.

Attorney General Kane thanked the Erie City Police Department for its assistance.

William Warnick of Allegheny County

According to the criminal complaint, agents conducting an online investigation found numerous online files that were allegedly shared from an IP address associated with Warnick’s residence, depicting children under the age of 18 posing naked in sexually suggestive positions or engaging in extremely sexual graphic acts.

Following a search warrant at Warnick’s residence, agents from the Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit conducted a preliminary analysis of his computer and other media storage devices and discovered more than 150 video files, which contain suspected child pornography. A complete analysis of Warnick’s computer is part of an ongoing investigation.

Warnick is charged with 22 counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. All charges were held for court by Judge Derwin D. Rushing.

The case will be prosecuted in Allegheny County by Deputy Attorney General Anthony Marmo of the Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.

Albert Aldham of Pike County

The charges state that agents, who were conducting an online investigation, identified a computer on a peer-to-peer network making several media files – believed to depict child pornography – available for download. The computer’s IP address was later identified as serving Aldham’s Hemlock Farms residence.

Agents executed a search warrant at Aldham’s home and seized a laptop computer, which was previewed by the Office of Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit and found to contain dozens of images and videos of suspected child pornography.

Aldham is charged with 35 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

The case will be prosecuted in Pike County by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Elo of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section. Attorney General Kane thanked the Pike County Detectives and Hemlock Farms Public Safety for their assistance.

David Mason of Montgomery County

According to the criminal complaint, Mason used a peer-to-peer network in order to make files – containing prepubescent children engaged in graphic sexual acts – available for download. Agents conducting an undercover investigation successfully downloaded one of those files and identified Mason as the source through the computer’s IP address.

A search of Mason’s East Norriton residence resulted in the seizure of a computer. Agents from the Office of Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit previewed the seized items and located more than 20 video and image files containing suspected child pornography.

Mason was arrested on Oct. 15, 2014 and charged with 20 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. He was held in the Montgomery County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2014.

Attorney General Kane thanked the East Norriton Police Department for its assistance with the investigation. The case will be prosecuted in Montgomery County by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Elo of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.

Note: A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.


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