The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Man accused of possessing thousands of child porn images
LIMERICK » A Limerick man possessed more than 3,000 sexually explicit images of children, some of them depicting young girls engaged in sex acts with adults, according to Montgomery County detectives.
Zackary Allen Geib, 28, of the first block of Betty Lane, was arraigned before District Court Judge Edward C. Kropp Sr. on charges of sexual abuse of children, possessing child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with alleged incidents that occurred in March. Kropp set Geib’s bail at $100,000 unsecured, and Geib was released to await his Dec. 12 preliminary hearing before District Judge Walter F. Gadzicki Jr. in Limerick.
Detectives alleged a forensic examination of Geib’s computer revealed 3,074 sexually explicit images of children, with at least 1,000 images showing young girls between the ages of 3 and 14 engaged in sexual acts with others.
“Some of the images showed young girls engaged in sexual acts with animals,” county Detective Kathleen Kelly alleged in the arrest affidavit, adding Geib gave a statement to detectives in which he confessed. “In the statement, Zackary Geib admitted to viewing child pornography while he is intoxicated.”
The investigation began in March when county detectives received a so-called “cybertip” initiated by an internet-based company called Chatstep, which reported the posting of child pornography by one of its users to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, according to the arrest affidavit.
When county detectives reviewed the suspect image they determined it depicted a female child in a sexually explicit pose, court papers indicate. The image, detectives said, was from “a previously documented and known series of child pornography.”
Detectives, using internet subscriber information, eventually traced the image to Geib’s residence. On Oct. 4, detectives showed up at Geib’s residence with a search warrant and confiscated a laptop computer from Geib’s bedroom, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Zackary Geib stated that he was the only one who utilizes this computer,” Kelly alleged.
Detectives with an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted a preview search of the computer at Geib’s home and observed several images of suspected child pornography, court papers indicate. Detectives then conducted a more extensive forensic examination of the computer, which led to the discovery of thousands of images.
If convicted of the charges at trial, Geib faces a possible maximum sentence of 12 to 24 years in prison.