DUBOIS – A DuBois man accused of sharing child pornography on his computer waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday during Centralized Court at Magisterial District Judge Patrick Ford’s office.
James J. Gearhart, 41, 360 Cain Rd., DuBois, is charged with 15 counts of possession of child pornography, criminal use of communication facility and possessing instruments of crime. Hi bail was set at $50,000, unsecured.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, while investigating online child pornography in January of 2011, an officer found a computer that was sharing files. He was able to browse through the available files, where he found several photos described as child pornography, including one of a naked 12-year-old girl.
The computer was traced back to Comcast Cable, which identified the internet subscriber as Gearhart’s father.
On March 21, 2011, a search warrant was served on the residence and James Gearhart was questioned. He cooperated and admitted to police that he downloads and views child pornography. He stated that he has been doing this for several years and would delete the files after viewing them.
Two computers were taken from the residence. An examination of one of them revealed 15 images of child pornography in the temporary internet file.
