Man Behind Bars for Requesting, Receiving Explicit Photos from Teen

YOUNG TWP., Pa. (EYT) – A North Carolina man is behind bars in the Jefferson County Jail for reportedly requesting and receiving inappropriate photos and videos from an underage girl in Young Township.

Court documents indicate State Police in Punxsutawney filed criminal charges against 42-year-old Terry Lee Harris Jr., of China Grove, North Carolina.

The charges stem from an investigation that began in February of 2017 regarding a report of inappropriate communication between a juvenile victim and an adult.

According to a criminal complaint, Punxsutawney-based State Police were contacted on February 24, 2017, by the parent of a known 17-year-old female juvenile victim who reportedly had been communicating with Terry Lee Harris Jr. via Facebook on her phone and computer. The juvenile had allegedly sent Harris “naked photos and videos” of herself.

In the messages between Harris and the victim, Harris had reportedly asked the victim to send him a “bunch” of photos and videos and to “make them special,” the complaint states.

The victim’s parent provided police with information about the victim’s and Harris’s Facebook identities and explained how the victim and Harris may have met the year prior.

On February 27, 2017, the victim was interviewed in the presence of a guardian.

According to the complaint, the victim told police she met Harris in the summer of 2016 and said there was no physical contact of any kind between them during that time. She said they had no further communication until a couple of months before the interview when she contacted him via Facebook. She noted that they had been communicating on a consistent basis ever since through phone calls, video chats, text messages, and Facebook messages.

The victim said she “didn’t see anything wrong with anything they were doing,” because she felt she and Harris were “in a relationship,” the complaint states.

According to the complaint, the victim confirmed she sent multiple photos and videos to Harris with her in various stages of undress, including many in which she was completely nude and touching herself in a sexual manner.

On February 28, 2017, the victim’s parent forwarded police screenshots from the victim’s Facebook that included an open Messenger window showing a partial conversation between the victim and Harris, where Harris asked the victim to send “a bunch of pics” or a video and to “make them very special.” Police also received screenshots from the victim’s Google Photos page containing over 60 images and several videos of the victim either nude or partially nude.

On March 3, 2017, a search warrant was served on Facebook for records pertaining to Harris’ and the victim’s accounts, and police received the requested records from Facebook on March 8, 2017.

The complaint states the records confirmed that the victim and Harris had significant communication via messages and phone calls through Facebook, including messages in which Harris requested specific types of images, and messages where the victim complied by sending nude images and/or videos.

On May 9, 2017, the victim’s cell phone and laptop were submitted, along with a valid search warrant, to the PSP Northwest Computer Crime Unit for forensic analysis, and the results of the analysis were received on October 30, 2017.

According to the complaint, a review of the extracted information further confirmed the victim and Harris had significant communication via messages, video chats, and phone calls, mainly through Facebook. The information also showed that on at least one occasion, Harris suggested the victim get “naked” and a video chat occurred shortly thereafter.

Included in the extraction were also hundreds of photos of the victim in various states of nudity with multiple photos and several videos of her touching herself, the complaint notes.

The following charges against Harris were initially filed through Magisterial District Judge Jacqueline J. Mizerock’s office on November 18, 2019:

– Photograph/Film/Depict on Computer Sex Act – Knowingly or Permitting Child, Felony 2
– Contact/Communication With Minor – Sexual Abuse, Felony 2
– Child Pornography, Felony 3
– Criminal Use of Communication Facility, Felony 3
– Corruption of Minors, Misdemeanor 1

He was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Douglas Robert Chambers at 11:06 p.m. on January 2, 2021.

Unable to post $70,000.00 (10%), he was lodged in the Jefferson County Jail on January 2, 2021.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. on February 9, 2021, with Judge Mizerock presiding.

EDITOR’S NOTE 1: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the alleged crimes.

EDITOR’S NOTE 2: Several details were removed from this article to help protect the identity of the victim.


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