Souderton man admits possessing child porn
NORRISTOWN >> A Souderton man is in jail awaiting his fate from a judge after he admitted to possessing child pornography.
Alan Frederick Pyle, 53, of the unit block of South County Line Road, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to multiple felony charges of possessing child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with incidents that occurred in July 2019.
Judge Cheryl L. Austin deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Pyle, who will undergo drug, alcohol, mental health and psychosexual evaluations. Pyle was remanded to the county jail without bail to await a sentencing hearing later this year.
Pyle faces a possible maximum sentence of 24½ to 49 years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.
Regardless of the sentence Pyle eventually receives, he will face a 15year requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.
An investigation of Pyle began on Feb 3, 2019, when county detectives received a tip generated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that child pornography images were downloaded by someone at a the South County Line Road residence, which was linked to Pyle, according to the criminal complaint.
When detectives went to Pyle’s home to discuss the allegations “he related he viewed inappropriate images of children, but never physically acted out any of his desires,” according to the criminal complaint.
Detectives subsequently seized Pyle’s electronic devices. Pyle allegedly told detectives he deleted files when he learned detectives were looking for him but added “he was sure with our forensics we could recover the deleted files,” according to the arrest affidavit.
A forensic analysis of the electronic devices uncovered “multiple images, over several hundred, of clear and apparent child pornography,” including images of newborn babies, toddlers, pre-teens and teens under the age of 18, according to arrest documents.
Pyle faces a possible maximum sentence of 24½ to 49 years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.