Upper Moreland man admits possessing child porn

NORRISTOWN » An Upper Moreland man remains free on bail while he awaits his fate from a judge after he admitted to possessing child pornography.

Jonathan Gary Lee, 34, of the first block of Fitzwatertown Road, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court Tuesday to a felony charge of sexual abuse of children possessing child pornography in connection with incidents that occurred in January 2017. Judge Gail A. Weilheimer deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Lee, including drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations.

Lee, who will be sentenced next year, faces a possible maximum sentence of 3 ½ to seven years in prison on the charge. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.

An investigation of Lee began on Jan. 5 when detectives conducting Internet investigations to identify those possessing or sharing child pornography identified a computer, linked to Lee, that was sharing files of suspected child porn, according to a criminal complaint filed by Abington Detective Rick Beaghley.

Between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, detectives were able to make a direct connection to Lee’s computer and successfully download three image or video files that depicted children under the age of 18 engaged in sexual poses or acts.

Detectives subsequently obtained a warrant to search Lee’s home and they went there on Jan. 26, according to court papers.

“Lee explained to us that he was the person responsible for the child pornography, which he used his desktop computer in the basement to download them,” Beaghley alleged in the arrest affidavit. “Lee admitted to downloading child pornography from the internet to his computer, and using search terms commonly associated with child pornography files.”

Lee allegedly told detectives he would masturbate to the child pornography files and then delete them.

“He further stated that he has been downloading child pornography for three or four years,” Beaghley alleged.

When detectives conducted a forensic examination of Lee’s computer they located 19 files of child pornography, according to arrest documents.