Former Pa. lawmaker enters plea for child porn

LEBANON, Pa. — A former Pennsylvania state lawmaker charged last fall with possession of child pornography pleaded guilty Thursday.

Mike Folmer entered a guilty plea in Lebanon County Court to three counts of possessing child porn and one count of criminal use of a communications facility for having items on his cellphone.

Folmer did not comment as he left the courtroom but told the judge he would have something to say at his sentencing hearing, scheduled for late May.

Folmer faces up to 10 years in prison, but his attorney Brian Perry said after Thursday’s hearing that he hopes the sentence will be far shorter. Folmer also will be evaluated to determine whether he should be classified as a violent sexual offender under state law.

“The defendant was entrusted to represent and serve the commonwealth, but instead chose to participate in the sexual exploitation of children. No one is above the law,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office prosecuted Folmer, said in a statement issued after the plea.

Folmer was a sitting fourterm state senator last September when police arrested and charged him, saying a search of his cellphone on a warrant had turned up images of child pornography.

Folmer promptly resigned. Mr. Perry said Folmer has been engaged in counseling and treatment.

State prosecutor Christopher Jones said during Thursday’s hearing that Folmer possessed three images of nude children that depicted indecent contact. Folmer was forthcoming and cooperative when questioned by investigators, Mr. Jones told Judge Joseph Madenspacher.

The investigation into Folmer, a Lebanon County Republican, had gone on for months following a tip from the social network Tumblr. Investigators eventually were able to trace a Tumblr account that had uploaded suspected child porn to Folmer’s email account and home address.