WINSLOW TWP., Pa. (EYT) – A Reynoldsville man is behind bars after being caught in possession of over 300 child pornography items that included images and video.
Court documents indicate the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation filed criminal charges against 64-year-old Edward Forrest Frank.
According to a criminal complaint, on August 5, 2018, an investigator with the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crime Unit was conducting undercover investigations into the sharing of child pornography via the internet and was able to locate a computer on a Bit Torrent file-sharing network that was sharing child pornography.
Initial Investigation
According to the complaint, files the investigator was able to download from the user of the computer included a video of a partially nude female victim of approximately 10 to 12 years of age displaying her genitals.
The complaint states a check of publicly available records related to the IP address of the computer confirmed the PI address was assigned to Comcast.
Police then served Comcast with a subpoena for the subscriber information related to the specific IP address.
According to the complaint, Comcast responded on May 10 and provided the name of Edward Frank, and a Reynoldsville address.
On November 15, 2018, a search warrant was executed at Frank’s residence in Winslow Township.
The complaint states 64 total electronic items were seized from the residence and transported to the Pennsylvania State Police Northwest Computer Crime Unit.
Police also interviewed Frank who reported confirmed he lived at the residence and had lived there since July of 2016.
Interview With Frank
Frank reportedly indicated he owned a laptop computer and an external hard drive and also confirmed he was the Comcast subscriber for internet access at the residence.
According to the complaint, Frank admitted he was familiar with “Bit Torrent” software and used it to download “movies” to his laptop. He also reportedly acknowledged that he understood the downloads are “shared.”
When questioned, Frank also reportedly admitted to police that he had seen child pornography titles listed while using the software to download movies, but said he used the software to obtain “science fiction” movies, not child pornography. He told police he downloaded the movies to external hard drives found in a drawer in his bedroom.
The complaint notes Frank then also admitted that “at some point” while attending college, he saw “still pictures years and years ago” that depicted child pornography.
Frank also allegedly admitted he was familiar with a known sexual abuse of children search term, and when asked to explain, said he had seen the term in the movie listings while using the Bit Torrent software. He reportedly told police there were “all kinds of files” he was not looking for and indicated “some” were child pornography. He also admitted he had recently seen file listings containing child pornography within the last week, according to the complaint.
During the questioning, Frank told police he owned multiple SD cards and external hard drives and told police they were located in his bedroom in a plastic drawer on top of the dresser and on his nightstand near the television.
According to the complaint, Frank admitted he had been using Bit Torrent software for the last 20 years but had only owned his most recent laptop for approximately two months and his previous laptop for approximately three to four years.
Child Pornography Recovered from Electronic Devices
The complaint gives the following summary of Child Pornography recovered from the seized electronic devices:
– MSI laptop computer with at least 47 images of child pornography recovered from the “recycle bin” and the “unallocated” clusters on the drive.
– MSI laptop computer with at least 50 images of child pornography from a known series and another unknown series.
– Seagate 4 terabyte external hard drive with two child pornography videos.
– Seagate 4 terabyte external hard drive with more than 100 images of child pornography from a known series.
– Western Digital one terabyte external hard drive with one image of child pornography and one image of child erotica.
– Seagate two terabyte external hard drive with one image of child pornography.
– Western Digital two terabyte external hard drive with one image of child pornography and one image of child erotica.
– Acer laptop computer containing one image of child pornography.
– HGST SATA hard drive from damaged MSI computer with more than 70 images of child pornography from a known series and three child pornography videos recovered from the “recycle bin” and “unallocated” clusters on the drive.
– Staples 16 gigabyte thumb drive with 13 videos of child pornography recovered from the “unallocated” clusters of the drive.
– Staples 16 gigabyte thumb drive with 16 videos of child pornography recovered from the “unallocated” clusters of the drive.
According to the complaint, in total, 281 child pornography images and 34 child pornography videos were recovered from the devices owned by Frank that were seized at his residence.
The recovered videos include the file that was transmitted to the investigator during the undercover investigation from Frank’s registered IP address, the complaint notes.
Frank was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge David B. Inzana at 10:50 a.m. on July 16 on the following charges:
– Disseminate Photo/Film of Child Sex Acts, Felony 3
– Child Pornography, Felony 3 (315 counts)
– Criminal Use of Communication Facility, Felony 3
Unable to post $70,000.00 monetary bail, he was lodged in the Jefferson County Jail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on July 30, with Judge Inzana presiding.
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