Man Charged With 175 Felony Child Porn Counts: Montco DA

PENNSBURG, PA — A local man has been arrested and charged with child porn possession after investigators allege that he uploaded videos to a social media app that depict young teens engaged in sexual situations.

John Mulgrew, 24, of Pennsburg, has been charged with 175 felony counts of possessing child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communications facility in connection with an investigation that prosecutors said began with a cybertip from the social media app Kik, via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, relating to video files of suspected child pornography, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

The DA's Office announced the arrest on Friday, saying Mulgrew was arrested and arraigned on the numerous charges before Magisterial District Court Judge Edward Levine on Nov. 29.

Prosecutors said that Mulgrew, who works as a sales rep at the Bergey's car dealership in Souderton, was released from police custody after Levine set bail at $200,000 unsecured.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 12, at which time a lower court judge will determine whether enough evidence exists to hold Mulgrew over for trial in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

According to the DA's Office, the investigation began on May 29 after county detectives received the cybertip about the suspected child pornography.

Detectives determined that 42 of the videos that were uploaded to Kik between May 19 and 23 were suspected child pornography involving pre-pubescent females.

Investigators said they traced the IP address used to log into the Kik account to Mulgrew's residence in Pennsburg.

In August, detectives served a search warrant at the home and recovered Mulgrew's cellphone, which forensic examiners determined contained numerous videos of pre-pubescent girls and boys engaged in various sexual acts or simulated sexual acts, according to the DA's Office.

Additional videos depicted adolescents engaged in various sexual poses and other activities, the DA's Office stated.

The case was investigated by members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is made up of law enforcement officers specially trained to work on cases designed to protect children from online predators.