3 men face child porn charges
Three men from Pottstown, West Norriton and Upper Dublin face child pornography charges following separate investigations by Montgomery County detectives who were searching the internet for those who exploit children.
Jacob Tyler Mitchell, 20, of the 400 block of Laurel Street, Pottstown, was arraigned before District Court Judge Edward C. Kropp on multiple felony charges of possessing child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility. Kropp set bail at $25,000 unsecured and Mitchell was released to await an Oct. 14 preliminary hearing on the
charges before Kropp.
Galdino De La Cruz, 32, of the unit block of Liberty Avenue, West Norriton, was arrested on Aug. 20 and charged with 19 felony counts of possessing child pornography, according to court papers. De La Cruz was arraigned before District Court Judge Suzan Leonard, who set bail at $50,000 cash. De La Cruz failed to make bail and was remanded to the county jail to await a Sept. 14 preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Marc A. Alfarano.
Aaron Domsky, 19, of the 3200 block of Burn Brae Drive, Upper Dublin, was arrested on Aug. 5 and arraigned on 20 felony counts of possessing child pornography before District Court Judge Patricia Zaffarano, who set bail at $50,000 unsecured. Domsky, who remains free on bail, waived his preliminary hearing on Aug. 14 and he was ordered to stand trial on all charges in county court.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said each of the investigations originated from so-called CyberTips. Steele said county detectives and specially sworn detectives from police departments countywide routinely work with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to protect children from alleged internet predators who exploit children.
The investigation of Mitchell began in April when detectives received a CyberTip from Google, which had noted 20 video and still photo files of potential child pornography being stored by one of its users, according to a criminal complaint. Detectives determined the files contained child pornography involving girls under the age of 10 engaged in sexual-related activities or poses
Investigators traced the Google account to Mitchell and an examination of the contents of the account revealed 87 image files containing child pornography, according to the arrest affidavit. Detectives, armed with search warrant, appeared a at Mitchell’s residence on June 23 and they seized a computer and cellphone from Mitchell’s bedroom. A forensic examination of those devices found 86 images depicting alleged child pornography. Twenty-five of the 86 images were an exact match to image files found on the Google account that generated the CyberTip, according to court papers.
The investigation of De La Cruz began on June 25 when county detectives received a CyberTip from Facebook regarding the alleged uploading of five videos depicting bestiality, including one involving a girl between the ages of 10 and 12, according to the criminal complaint. The Facebook account was traced to De La Cruz and his residence in West Norriton, where detectives met the defendant.
A subsequent forensic analysis performed on De La Cruz’s cellphone uncovered 18 images and one video depicting children between the ages of 4 and 12 engaging in sexual acts, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Kathleen Kelly.
The investigation of Domsky began on June 16, when county detectives received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a Dropbox account that allegedly was used to upload three videos of child pornography, according to court papers. The three videos depicted a 12-yearold girl undressing and being photographed in various sexual positions at the direction of someone offcamera.
Detectives traced the internet account to Domsky’s residence and detectives appeared there on June 24 with a search warrant for the Dropbox account, which Domsky admitted to owning.
A search of the account uncovered 20 video files depicting girls between the ages of 4 and 12 who appeared to be using a social media platform to communicate with viewers and doing what the viewers asked them to do, according to the criminal complaint. Domsky agreed to be interviewed by detectives.
“He stated he has traded images and videos of child pornography and has solicited children for nude videos or images of themselves. Domsky stated he used the social media applications Snapchat and Mega to solicit and trade child pornography,” Kelly alleged.
Detectives alleged Domsky possessed the video files of children engaged in sexual activity “so he could view them for his own sexual gratification.”