Haverford man pleads to child porn possession
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33-year-old Haverford man entered open guilty pleas Tuesday to charges of possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication device, both felonies of the third degree.
Thomas J. Tomeo Jr., of the first block of Woodbine Road in the Havertown section of the township, is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 29 on both counts. He faces up to 14 years in prison and a $30,000 fine, as well as
15 years of sex offender registration under Megan’s Law.
Assistant District Attorney Christopher Boggs told Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan that the possession charge was a secondtier offense under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act because there were more than 250 images but less than 500.
Tomeo was charged in October 2017 with 15 counts of disseminating child pornography, 50 counts of possession and 65 counts of criminal use of a communication device following a monthslong investigation by Delaware County detectives and members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Detective Edmond Pisani initiated the investigation after downloading a file on the peer-to-peer file sharing network BitTorrent in July 2017 that contained several videos, mostly of child pornography, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Pisani identified the unique Internet Protocol address on the sole sharing computer and subpoenaed Comcast to provide the subscriber information. The Comcast legal department provided Tomeo’s name and address.
Pisani, Detective Sgt. Kenneth Bellis, detectives Chis Tankelewizc and John Hoffner, Analyst Brian Knowlton and Haverford Police Officer Mark Travaline served a search warrant at Tomeo’s residence August 24.
Tomeo did not admit to searching for child pornography at that time, according to the affidavit, but did allegedly say that “he knew if he were to talk to detectives about what he was doing it would get him in more trouble.”
When told that his IP address had been seen with more than 98,000 files of interest, Tomeo also allegedly said, “I don’t have that many files.”
Detectives confiscated several pieces of digital equipment from the home, including a custom built computer and Lenovo laptop. A forensic examination of the computer’s hard drive revealed 250 images of child pornography depicting female children between the ages of 8 and 12 years, according to the affidavit. The laptop also allegedly contained three videos of child pornography.
A keyword search of both devices indicated they had been “extensively used” to search for child pornography, and it appeared Tomeo had been downloading and then deleting files after viewing them, according to the affidavit.
Tomeo, represented by defense attorney Robert Keller, later surrendered to detectives at CID headquarters and was arraigned on all charges. He posted bail of 10 percent of $75,000 last year on the condition that he not have any contact with children or access to the Internet.