Centre County man arrested after investigation into child sexual abuse material
A Centre County man was arrested Thursday after state prosecutors said he admitted to possessing well more than 100 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Samuel J. Jones, 75, of Ferguson Township, was charged with 97 felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and one felony count of criminal use of a communication facility.
The about eight dozen files described in an affidavit of probable cause represented a “small sampling” of what was found Thursday on Jones’ electronic devices, a special agent wrote. They described the images as depicting bondage, bestiality, prepubescent children and indecent sexual contact.
No defense lawyer was listed.
Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office said its investigation began in January after a sexually explicit file was viewed or uploaded through Microsoft’s Bing. Special agents said they tracked the image to Jones, who was described as a military veteran.
Investigators searched his home Thursday morning. Agents said Jones told them during an interview he has seen child sexual abuse material through an online chat room. Additional files were found on one of several USB flash drives in Jones’ basement and Jones never denied possession of them, the special agent wrote.
Jones was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Casey McClain, who set bail at $25,000. He is incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 28.