Day care worker busted for child pornography

PHILADELPHIA » A city woman who worked at a Havertown day care for autistic children until last week has been federally charged with distribution of child pornography.

Tayanna Bowman, 23, of the 200 block of North Simpson Street, had been employed as a behavioral health technician at ChanceLight Autism Services in Havertown until June 12, according to a release from U.S. Attorney William McSwain, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She had also previously worked as a teaching assistant at Cynthia’s Little Treasures Day Care on North 63rd Street in West Philadelphia, a residential business run by her grandparents, according to a criminal complaint.

“The allegations in this case are disturbing,” said McSwain. “Any child exploitation case is a very serious matter, but here, the defendant was working with vulnerable, autistic children while she was engaged with an online community of individuals interested in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children – and illegally distributing child pornography to that community.”

An undercover federal agent was using the online social media application Kik on Jan. 27 to investigate individuals trading child pornography through a known group called “teeny tiny tots,” according to the complaint.

The agent saw someone identified as “elena_mone” distributing five files of child pornography in the group, according to the complaint. The agent videocaptured the distribution, then downloaded the files to review, the complaint says.

After confirming the images in the files were child pornography, investigators determined the Kik account’s Internet Protocol addresses used to log in were serviced by Comcast and Verizon.

Comcast provided agents with the Simpson Street address, according to the complaint, while Verizon showed the Kik subscriber had logged in from Cynthia’s Little Treasures during the time the child pornography was distributed. The agent was also able to match the “elena_mone” Kik handle to other accounts associated with Bowman, the complaint says.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Simpson Street address June 11, but Bowman was not at home, according to the complaint. Investigators then visited Cynthia’s Little Treasures, where they met with Bowman, the complaint says.

Bowman allegedly admitted to using the “elena_mone” Kik account to communicate with others online and distribute child pornography. She also agreed to allow agents to search her cell phone and laptop computer, the complaint says.

Bowman estimated that she had distributed child pornography 50 times over Kik and would provide other users with hyperlinks to the files in their communications. She denied being sexually attracted to children, but said she was sexually gratified by the other users being aroused by the material she sent them, the complaint says.

Bowman also denied ever videotaping or distributing images of the children in her care, according to the complaint.

If convicted, Bowman faces a statutory maximum sentence of

20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Harrell is prosecuting. Bowman is represented by attorney Kathleen M. Gaughan. Magistrate Judge Marilyn Heffley has granted Harrell’s motion for pretrial detention.