Falls man 'obsessed' with dead 'Poltergeist' child actress charged with unlawful contact with minor
Falls police have charged a maintenance manager at a township apartment complex with unlawful contact with a child after he allegedly asked neighborhood boys for the name of girl who he believes is the reincarnation of a dead child actress from the 1980s.
Stephen Kobren, 61, was arraigned Tuesday on the single felony charge and he remains incarcerated in Bucks County Corrections in lieu of 10% of $100,000 bail.
Following his arrest, police obtained a search warrant for Kobren’s apartment at Lakeview Terrace in the 250 block of Olds Boulevard, where he has lived for the last 22 years. He has been the complex’s maintenance manager for a decade, police said.
In the search investigators have found articles of clothing including children’s underwear, bathing suits and diapers that they do not believe belong to Kobren, Falls Lt. Christopher Clark said.
Authorities began investigating Kobren after receiving two tips through an online reporting system earlier this month that Kobren was in possession of child pornography.
When police officers went to the apartments on Tuesday to investigate, they met with Kobren to talk about the anonymous report.
During the conversation, Kobren told the officers that he “fairly seldom” looked at child pornography, but he had “accidentally” seen some on his desktop computer and tablet while viewing adult pornography, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
He also allegedly told the officers he owned about 15 to 20 books that depict children in different development stages and his attraction to Heather O’Rourke, a child actress known best for her role in the popular “Poltergeist” movies. She died at the age of 12 in 1988.
When the officers accompanied Kobren to his apartment to look at the books, they observed “montages of O’Rourke” on numerous walls, and hundreds of photos of mostly females including O’Rourke and nude pre-pubescent girls on his bedroom ceiling, according to the affidavit.
When one of the officers flipped through the pages of one book Kobren handed him, it had “numerous” book markers and prepubescent boys and girls sitting fully nude. The officer noted the book did not appear to have any educational or medical purpose.
Later during an interview at the Falls police station Kobren told police about a neighborhood girl who reminded him of O’Rourke and he was able to describe her in detail including her hair and eye color, the affidavit said.
He also told police he asked other neighborhood boys to tell him the girl’s first name and he found out where she lived.
Kobren also allegedly admitted to watching the girl when she walked her dog or rode her bike. He also told police he felt the girl was trying to “impress and tease him,” police said.
“Kobren felt that (the girl) looked like O'Rourke and was a "reincarnation" of her,” according to the affidavit.
In the affidavit, police said they were able to find the girl, who is 9-years-old. She told police a few times she noticed Kobren staring at her while she played with her dog in a field near the apartment complex.
Falls police are asking anyone with information about Kobren or who believes that he may be in possession of missing items is directed to contact Detective Stephen Reeves, at 215-949-9100, ex. 430, via email at s.reeves@fallstwppd.com, or anonymously, at tiplines@fallstwppd.com
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Falls man "obsessed" with child actress from 'Poltergeist' charged with for contact with minor
