Case Moves Forward Against Brookville Woman Accused of Recording Sex Act With Child

BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT) — Charges against a Brookville woman who has allegedly admitted to videotaping and then sharing the video of herself sexually abusing a young child were waived in Jefferson County District Court on Tuesday.

According to court documents, charges against 29-year-old Christine Lorraine Nichols, of Brookville, have been transferred to Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas.

(In video: Nichols, the defendant with pink hair, was transported from District Judge Greg Bazylak’s office on Tuesday by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies.)

Nichols’s attorney, Robert Donaldson, of Hollidaysburg, said, “Although it’s regrettable that a young child was victimized, (he believes) we will be able to attack the Commonwealth’s case once we find out more through discovery.”

“It’s a gripping set of allegations,” said Donaldson, a former state assistant DA.

While no formal court date has yet been set, Donaldson said the next proceeding would come in December.

Nichols faces the following charges:

• Rape of Child, Felony 1

• Statutory Sexual Assault: 11 Years Older, Felony 1

• Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with Child, Felony 1

• Photograph/Film/Depict on Computer Sex Act – Knowingly Depicts on Computer, Photo, etc, Felony 2

• Photograph/Film/Depict on Computer Sex Act – Knowingly or Permitting Child, Felony 2

• Corruption Of Minors – Defendant Age 18 or Above, Felony 3

• Disseminating Photo/Film of Child Sex Acts, Felony 3

• Child Pornography, Felony 3

• Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3

• Indecent Assault Person Less than 13 Years of Age, Misdemeanor 1

She remains in the Jefferson County Jail after failing to post $100,000.00 monetary bail.

Texas Child Porn Arrest Sparks Investigation

According to a criminal complaint, on June 2, 2017, Pa. State Police Cpl. Novak was contacted by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) analyst Rosanna Powers about an investigation conducted in conjunction with the Webster Police Department in Webster, Texas.

Powers said the investigation revealed that a female suspect, later identified as Christine Nichols, allegedly produced child pornography and transmitted it to Michael Teal of Crosby, Texas, the complaint states.

According to information provided by Detective D.G. Nettles of the Webster Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit, police began investigating Teal’s online activity after Google Inc. submitted a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the complaint indicates.

The CyberTip contained information indicating child pornography images were transmitted over Google Inc. servers via a Gmail account owned by Teal. Multiple electronic devices were seized after a search warrant was executed at Teal’s Crosby, Texas residence. Detective Nettles later interviewed Teal who eventually confessed to the production, possession, and dissemination of child pornography. He also admitted to sexually assaulting two children, according to court documents.

Teal Communicated with Nichols

According to the complaint, further review of the information provided by Google Inc. revealed that Teal communicated with an individual associated with the user “christinenichols[removed]@gmail.com.”

These communications included “sexualized conversations” about a child. At one point, the user “christinenichols[removed]@gmail.com” allegedly admitted to having sexual contact with a male child, the complaint states.

The communications contained extreme graphic details in which the woman allegedly admitted to having sexual contact with the child. Additional chat messages indicated that the user “christinenichols[removed]@gmail.com” had been “struggling with pedophilia and regretted sexually assaulting the child,” according to the complaint.

Detective Nettles also reviewed images that Teal received from the user “christinenichols[removed]@gmail.com” including nude and non-nude images of a woman. Some of these images depicted a white female with a white male child approximately two to four years of age, the complaint states.

Additionally, a close-up image of the woman showed that her tongue was pierced twice, the complaint continues.

Detective Nettles compared the images from the user “christinenichols[removed]@gmail.com” with a child pornography video received during the initial CyberTip report. The video showed an adult female performing oral sex on what appeared to be a prepubescent male child. The video illustrated that the female suspect had her tongue pierced twice, according to the complaint.

Using public resources, Detective Nettles was able to associate the user “christinenichols[removed]@gmail.com” with a Facebook account using the alias Christine Brodd. Upon further investigation, Detective Nettles identified the woman as Christine Lorraine (Brodd) Nichols, 29, of McManigle Road, Brookville, Pa., the complaint states.

Detective Nettles then contacted an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) affiliate in Pennsylvania and provided the case information for additional investigation to be conducted by the Pa. State Police.

Members of Pa. State Police Troop C then reviewed the evidence and confirmed the suspect was Christine Lorraine Nichols of Brookville, the complaint states.

Nichols Taken into Custody, Interviewed

According to the complaint, on June 3 around 9:00 p.m., Nichols was taken into custody by the Pa. State Police at a location along Thompson Drive in Marienville, Pa. Jefferson County CYS responded to the scene and assured the safety of all children involved.

At approximately 9:27 p.m., Cpl. Novak and Tpr. Weaver interviewed Nichols at the Marienville State Police barracks.

During the interview, Nichols confirmed that she recently resided at a location along McManigle Road in Brookville.

Nichols indicated that she was born In Texas but has lived in Pennsylvania since 2005.

Nichols also confirmed that she knew Michael Teal, stating that they have been friends for several years.

She said she last communicated with Teal approximately two months ago via Facebook messenger.

Additionally, she allegedly told police that Teal had confided in her and told her about his sexual relationship with two children.

According to the complaint, Nichols said Teal sent her multiple sexually explicit videos using Facebook messenger. The videos depicted the sexual assault of the children.

Nichols also allegedly admitted that she sent sexually explicit images and videos to Teal via Facebook messenger. She allegedly said she produced a video of herself performing oral sex on a prepubescent male child in October 2016 and then sent the video to Teal, according to the criminal complaint.

She also confirmed that she was the owner of the user “christinenichols[removed]@gmail.com” account and the Facebook account uncovered earlier in the investigation.

Nichols remains lodged in the Jefferson County Jail in lieu of $100,000.00 straight bail.

Editor’s Note: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the alleged crime. Additional details were omitted to help protect the identities of the victims.


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