Centre County man charged with viewing large amount of child sexual abuse material
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State police charged Roy A. Waite, 65, after finding extensive child abuse images.
- Troopers discovered hundreds of files and evidence of browser use to conceal searches.
- Waite, on lifetime parole for a 2018 conviction, admitted viewing material weekly.
A Centre County man was charged Tuesday with viewing photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, images a state police trooper at Rockview described as vile and disturbing.
Roy A. Waite, 65, of Spring Township, viewed copious amounts of child sexual abuse images he found using search terms such as “infant,” “abused” and “torture,” police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
After opening one of three bookmarks on Waite’s cellphone, the trooper said he uncovered a “near uncomfortable” number of files — about 775. Police further alleged Waite used a specific internet browser in an attempt to “conceal his criminal endeavors.”
The investigation began in September after a state parole agent told police he discovered the images on Waite’s cellphone. He had been on lifetime parole after a 2018 child pornography conviction in New Jersey.
During an interview at the Rockview barracks, troopers said Waite acknowledged he was still struggling with a “bad habit” and admitted to viewing the images. He estimated he viewed child sexual abuse material three to four times per week, police wrote.
Waite further said he “simply is hooked on viewing child nudity,” police wrote.
No defense lawyer was listed, and the Centre County Public Defender Office said it was not representing him as of Tuesday afternoon. He’s charged with three felony counts of viewing child sexual abuse material.
Waite is incarcerated at Forest state prison in northwest Pennsylvania. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3.