House arrest for porn offenses
Former lawyer admits to using work computer to obtain, view indecent images of children
NORRISTOWN >> A former lawyer from Lower Frederick will be under court supervision for about seven years after he admitted to using his work computer at an Upper Gwynedd law firm to search for, view and obtain hundreds of images of child pornography.
George Bock Ditter, 66, of the 200 block of Hendricks Road, was sentenced Monday in Montgomery County Court to 23 months in the county’s intermediate punishment program, the first three months of which must be spent under house arrest while wearing an electronic monitoring device. Ditter will serve the remainder of the sentence under intensive probation.
Judge Garrett D. Page also tacked on an additional five years of probation, meaning Ditter will be under court supervision for about seven years. Ditter also must complete 72 hours of community service and will be monitored by the probation department’s sex offender supervision unit.
An evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board determined Ditter did not meet criteria to be classified as a sexually violent predator. However, Ditter still faces a 15-year requirement to report his address to state police.
The charges were filed in connection with incidents that were uncovered in October 2015 while Ditter worked as an independent contractor at the Upper Gwynedd law firm of Hladik, Onorato
and Federman.
Ditter’s association with the law firm was discontinued on Oct. 7, 2015. Law firm officials cooperated with the investigation. Ditter’s
law license has been suspended by the state Supreme Court.
Ditter apologized to his wife, relatives and a courtroom packed with supporters from his church. He admitted to having an addiction to pornography “in secret” and to bringing “public disgrace on a
profession I valued. “Ditter said the day detectives showed up to arrest him, was “the day of new beginnings.”
“I knew God sent them and had decreed, ‘Enough is enough, this is going to end now,’” Ditter said.
Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan argued for some jail time against Ditter.
“He was an individual who knew what he was looking for and searched for it over and over again,” Ryan argued, adding that even though the charges didn’t involve hands-on offenses they are no less egregious. “Every single time an image of child pornography is viewed that child is abused all over again.”
Defense lawyer Stephen M. Geday argued for a probationary sentence for Ditter.
“We didn’t feel that sitting in a prison cell was appropriate for Mr. Ditter. He’s contributed so much to the community already. This incident really is a contrast to the work he’s done for the community his whole life,” argued Geday,
adding Ditter has sought counseling.
An investigation of Ditter began Oct. 6, when a partner in the law firm located in the 200 block of Wissahickon Avenue contacted police to report that “he believed an employee in his office was possessing and acquiring child pornography through the use of a firm computer,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Upper Gwynedd Detective Jon Kelcey and county Detective James Reape.
The law firm official told investigators that in midto late-September, he had walked over to the office copier machine to retrieve a fax when he discovered two printed images setting in the copier tray, one of which showed two naked males engaged in a sexual act, according to the arrest affidavit. The partner told detectives he observed Ditter retrieve the images from the copier, according to the criminal complaint.
The next day, Ditter approached the partner to explain the images, claiming that he had been doing research for a “sexually
graphic novel” that he was writing, according to court documents. During the meeting, the partner advised Ditter that possession and printing of such materials was a violation of company policy.
At that time, Ditter allegedly asked the partner, “Let’s just keep this between us. Please don’t tell anyone about this,” according to the criminal complaint.
On Oct. 3, according to court documents, a computer virus was detected on the law firm’s computer server, and a tech company was brought in to identify and remove the virus. During that work, two sexually explicit images, both of lone teenaged males, were found on a shared drive, and while those files were not the cause of the virus, the tech company was able to determine that Ditter had placed them on the shared drive, according to the arrest affidavit.
Further investigation of Ditter’s work computer by the tech company uncovered numerous image searches using terms including
“really young teen boys” and other much more sexually explicit search terms, according to the criminal complaint. Several images discovered on the computer’s temporary cache folder later were determined by detectives to be child pornography, court documents alleged.
An Oct. 27 digital forensics report completed by county detectives indicated that 330 child pornography images were found on Ditter’s computer, along with a history of extremely explicit search terms allegedly used by Ditter on his work computer to search for child pornography involving young boys, according to the arrest affidavit.
During questioning by county detectives, court documents alleged, Ditter provided a statement acknowledging that he searched for pornography on his work computer, claiming that he had been doing research for a book, and saying that he didn’t believe anyone other than he had accessed his computer during the prior month.
Ditter told investigators that his image searches led him to viewing child pornography and that “this is where I would say I fell off the cliff, so to speak. I discovered an unknown interest in these images,” the arrest affidavit alleged.
“We didn’t feel that sitting in a prison cell was appropriate for Mr. Ditter. He’s contributed so much to the community already. This incident really is a contrast to the work he’s done for the community his whole life.” — defense lawyer Stephen M. Geday