State senator from Lebanon charged with possession of child pornography
- Type of protection : Granting release
- Details
- Category: Paedophiles in the system
- Created: Thursday, 19 September 2019 19:05
- Written by MATT ALLIBONE, NORA SHELLY | YORK DAILY RECORD
UPDATE: State Sen. Mike Folmer has been charged with possession of child pornography, according to a news release from Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
A Republican, Folmer represents parts of Lebanon, Dauphin and York counties.
According to the release from Shapiro's office, Folmer was charged Tuesday night after images of child pornography were found on his phone when police searched his home after obtaining a warrant.
The investigation began after a cyber tip reported that an individual had uploaded an image of child pornography to the social networking website Tumblr.
“This defendant serves as a state Senator and was entrusted to honor and represent his community in the Pennsylvania Capitol,” Shapiro said in the release. “Tonight, our Office arrested Mr. Folmer for possession of child pornography and charged him with Sexual Abuse of Children, Possession of Child Pornography, and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility. I will continue to say it—no one is above the law, no matter what position of power they hold. I will continue to work to protect children and hold those who abuse them accountable.”
The criminal complaint against Folmer details the charges against the four-term senator.
What the criminal complaint says
Tumblr reported in February to the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children that a user had uploaded an image depicting child pornography in December 2017.
According to the criminal complaint, the account that uploaded the image was associated with a Yahoo email address that included the names "Jay" and "Michael." Jay is Folmer's middle name, according to the complaint.
A special agent with the Attorney General's Child Predator Unit began investigating the image in March of this year, according to the complaint, and eventually was able to associate the email address with a phone number and Folmer's home address.
A search warrant was issued Tuesday for Folmer's home, according to the complaint, and was executed about 10:30 a.m. At the same time, an agent from the Attorney General's office went to Folmer's office in the Lebanon municipal building at 400 South 8th Street.
According to the complaint, Folmer handed over his phone, which a forensic search later revealed contained two images depicting child pornography. The senator then drove himself the 1.5 miles back to his house on North 8th Street in Lebanon.
Folmer told the agent in the Attorney General's office and an agent with the Department of Homeland Security that the Tumblr account that posted the picture was his, and that he had been "dealing with some personal problems/issues" and had received images of child pornography through Tumblr.
Attempts to reach Folmer early Wednesday for comment were not immediately successful.
A native of Lebanon, Folmer was first elected to the Pennsylvania senate in 2006 and was reelected to his fourth term last November. Folmer had served on the Lebanon City Council prior to being elected to the General Assembly in 2006. The republican had been a supporter of passage of medical marijuana legislation, and had recently worked on election reform. The Republican leaders in the state senate removed Folmer from his committee chairmanship on Tuesday, according to a statement from republicans Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senator Majority Leader Jake Corman.
Folmer's public Facebook and Twitter pages appeared to be deactivated by early Wednesday morning.
According to the news release, the case will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Jones. Folmer posted his $25,000 bail, according to Magisterial District Justice Thomas Capello's office.
Source : https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2019/09/17/senator-mike-folmer-charged-possession-child-pornography/2358934001/
