WCU student charged in child porn case

Images of child pornography reportedly found on computer, iPhone owned by Ryan Davis

PHILADELPHIA » Hundreds of images of child pornography were found on a computer and iPhone owned by a West Chester University student, federal officials said Friday.

Ryan Davis of Thornbury was arrested and charged by indictment with transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography, according to a press release issued by the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia. He was taken into custody at his home in Thornbury, officials said, and was awaiting a detention hearing in U. S. District Court on Tuesday.

“Child exploitation is a horrendous crime, and we have to do everything in our power to stop it,” said U. S. Attorney William McSwain. “That is why these cases are a priority, as is ensuring that the offenders are held fully responsible.”

If convicted, Davis, 21, faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years in a federal prison, including a five- year minimum mandatory prison term, five years of supervised probation, and $ 750,000 in fines.

Details of the investigation into Davis’ activities were scant in the

indictment, but list a number of dates in February 2016, march 2017, and August 2017 when he had images of minors engaged in sexual activity on his electronic devices. Some of those incidents took place while Davis, known by the screen name “davis_ rad,” was on West Chester’s campus. Other incidents occurred at Davis’s former home in Glen Mills, Delaware County.

The images included those in which minors were seen being sexually assaulted or depicted in sexually explicit positions, the U. S. Attorney’s news release stated.

The pornography was found on Davis’ Apple MacBook Pro laptop and an iPhone 7, both of which he was ordered to surrender to authorities. The indictment states he used a Dropbox account and other online services to store and access the material.

A WCU spokeswoman, Nancy Gainer, responded to the indictment by confirming that Davis is a current student at the university.

“This incident is highly disturbing to our community, and goes against the inherent values that guide all of our actions as socially responsible citizens,” Gainer said in a statement Friday afternoon. “The university is contacting the U. S. Department of Justice to secure a police report. Upon receipt, the police report will be reviewed by WCU’s Office of Student Conduct and action will indeed be taken by the university.”

The case was brought by the federal authorities as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse that was launched in May 2006 by the U. S. Department of Justice, according to the release. Project Safe Childhood joins federal, state and local law enforcement resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute those who exploit children via the internet as well as to identify and rescue the child involved.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office. The prosecution will be led by Assistant U. S. Attorney Michelle Rotella. She is also overseeing the cases of Lawrence “Larry” Jamison of Willistown and John Christopher Brown of Norristown for sex trafficking.