Man sentenced on child porn charges

NORRISTOWN >> A Hatfield Township man will be under court supervision for several years after he admitted to possessing child pornography on his electronic devices.

Joseph Michael Morrissey III, 20, of the 2600 block of Anthony Drive in the Colmar section of the township, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday to three years of probation after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possessing child pornography in connection with incidents that occurred between July 2021 and January 2022.

Judge Thomas P. Rogers also ordered that Morrissey be placed under sex offender supervision during the probationary period. Rogers said Morrissey is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with minors and his internet usage must be monitored during his supervision.

Additionally, Morrissey faces a 15-year requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and Hatfield Township detectives conducted a joint investigation that led to Morrissey’s arrest.

That investigation of Morrissey began in July 2021 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip report regarding a user of the social media platform Snapchat possessing suspected child pornography, according to the criminal complaint filed by Eric J. Barlow, a special agent with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.

The 10-second video file depicted a female believed to be between 10- and 14-years-old performing a sex act on an adult male, according to the arrest affidavit.

Investigators subsequently linked the Snapchat account to Morrissey and on Jan. 7, 2022, investigators showed up at Morrissey’s residence with a search warrant and recovered several electronics devices, court papers indicate.

When investigators interviewed Morrissey he said he acquired the child pornography by using another unidentified social media platform “to find people with Snapchat that would trade pornography,” Barlow alleged in the criminal complaint.

Investigators asked Morrissey if he knew that child pornography was illegal and he replied “yes,” according to court documents.

Another charge of criminal use of a communication facility was dismissed against Morrissey.

Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Michelle Lynn Laucella handled the case. Defense lawyer Matthew Taylor Wilkov represented Morrissey.