Ex-Radnor pol, an accused kiddie porn fan, goes to jail

PHILADELPHIA » Former Radnor commissioner Phil Ahr will remain in prison following a hearing Monday as he entered a not guilty plea in connection with his recent arrest on federal child pornography charges.

Ahr was in federal court in Philadelphia Monday for his latest appearance related to his alleged downloading and dissemination of child pornography.

Ahr, a Democrat, had been president of the Radnor Board of Commissioners when he was arrested by the office of the Delaware County District Attorney in connection with his alleged downloading and dissimilation of child pornography last October.

Monday, Ahr was ordered held in prison by federal Judge Marilyn Heffley. Although he had been charged in Delaware County last year, he had been out of prison on bail since his October arrest.

In court documents released Monday, prosecutors outlined many of the allegations against Ahr in their motion for pretrial detention.

According to some of the allegations against Ahr, prosecutors said they found 350 Yahoo Messenger chats where Ahr distributed and received child pornography.

Prosecutors also allege they found a hidden Excel spreadsheet containing more than 1,100 website addresses and more than 360 images of child pornography.

“The majority of the images depict prepubescent children, toddlers, and infants being sexually abused by adult men and women, and in some cases, by other children, as well as depicting children in bondage as part of the sexual abuse. The babies and children in the images are being vaginally and anally raped, and forced to perform and receive oral sex by adults,” court records state.

Mark Much, Ahr’s attorney, could not be reached for comment but the Philadelphia Inquirer quoted him saying in court, “He has taken steps to prevent this from ever happening again. To engage in this type of behavior is a mental defect. And what does he do? Four days after authorities search his house, he checks himself in for psychosexual treatment.”

Ahr has also been scheduled for trial in Delaware County in April on the state charges.