Man sent to jail for possessing child porn
NORRISTOWN » An Abington man has been sentenced to jail after he admitted to charges that he possessed child pornography on computer equipment in the home he shared with his father, who also faced similar charges.
Patrick Harry Ennis, 30, of the 800 block of Edgehill Road in the Glenside section of the township, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 10 to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of sexual abuse of children, possessing child pornography in connection with incidents that occurred between April and May 2017.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein also ordered Ennis to complete three years’ probation following parole, meaning Ennis will be under court supervision for about five years. Ennis will be under sex offender supervision by probation officials.
Rothstein said Ennis will be prohibited from using the Internet to access social media and pornographic websites. Ennis’ email will be monitored by probation officials, the judge said.
Ennis also is prohibited from being within 1000 feet of any school and the judge ordered he is to have no unsupervised contact with minors. Ennis must attend a community-based sex offender treatment program after he is paroled, according to the judge’s order.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Brittenburg, who sought a jail term against Ennis. Ennis was represented by defense lawyer William Moore.
Ennis father, Harry F. Ennis, 69, also was charged during the same investigation.
In March, Harry Ennis was sentenced to five years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of sex abuse of children, possessing child pornography. Judge Thomas C. Branca also ordered Harry Ennis to complete 500 hours of community service and to continue with ongoing treatment.
An investigation of the men began on April 13, 2017, according to court papers, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip from AOL Inc. regarding the uploading of 27 images that appeared to be child pornography. The Internet address was traced to the Edgehill Road residence where both men lived.
Police obtained a search warrant in May 2017 and it was determined that the 27 images were uploaded from a computer in Patrick Ennis’s bedroom, according to authorities.
A computer and other electronics devices also were seized from Henry Ennis’s office. A forensic examination of those devices uncovered more than 600 sexually explicit images and two sexually explicit video files, police alleged.
Detectives alleged the files depicted children under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts or sexually explicit poses.
When detectives initially asked Harry Ennis if he ever viewed child pornography on the Internet he allegedly replied, “Not purposely,” according to the criminal complaint.