Upper Providence man faces trial on child porn charges
LOWER PROVIDENCE » An Upper Providence man must answer to charges in Montgomery County Court that he allegedly possessed child pornography on his home computer, including images of an infant being sexually assaulted.
Richard D. Gilbert,
31, of the unit block of Sheffield Court, waived his preliminary hearing on charges of possessing child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between December 2019 and January 2020.
District Court Judge Cathleen
Kelly Rebar of Lower Providence set bail at $50,000 unsecured and Gilbert will remain free on his own recognizance while awaiting trial in county court.
The investigation began on Dec. 24, 2019, when county detectives received a Cybertip that an internet user had uploaded three child pornographic images, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective James J. Reape.
Two photos depicted a female child, aged 2 or 3, in a sexual-related pose, according to court papers. The third file included a video clip of an adult male having sexual contact “with what appears to be a 4-6 year old child,” according to the criminal complaint.
Detectives obtained internet subscriber information, which traced the computer that uploaded the images to Gilbert’s residence.
On Jan. 22, detectives went to Gilbert’s residence with a search warrant and seized a desktop computer that was submitted for a forensic examination.
“Contained in the examination results were no less than 10 files depicting children all under the age of 18 years engaging in prohibited sexual acts or in the simulation of such acts,” Reape alleged in the criminal complaint.
The images included a female infant and other girls between the ages of 6 and 10 being sexually assaulted by an adult male, according to the arrest affidavit.
Gilbert potentially faces decades in prison if convicted of all the charges at trial.