Wilkes-Barre man, 71, arrested for downloading child sexual abuse materials

Ed Lewis, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read
24

Jul. 21—WILKES-BARRE — Days after law enforcement authorities announced statistics in Operation Safe Screen targeting individuals sexually preying upon minors, a Wilkes-Barre man was arrested on allegations he downloaded images of child sexual abuse materials.

Robert Moore, 71, of Park Avenue, admitted he had been searching for child pornography using key search words for years, according to court records.

A forensic analysis of Moore's computer uncovered digital files of nude children or children engaged in sexual acts with the youngest child estimated to be 2 to 3 years old, court records say.

Moore was arrested by agents with the Pennsylvania General's Office's Child Predator Section, members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

When agents served a search warrant at his apartment, Moore admitted "all kinds of pornography" would be found on his computer including "hundreds of images of child pornography," court records say.

Moore allegedly claimed he last viewed child sexual abuse materials on Wednesday, a day before agents greeted him at his apartment door with the search warrant.

Moore was arraigned by District Judge Thomas Malloy in Wilkes-Barre on 25 counts of child pornography and a single count of criminal use of communication facility. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.

State agents were led to Moore after investigating CyberTips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

On Tuesday, State Police Area III Commander Michael Carroll announced "Operation Safe Screen," a multi-agency law enforcement initiative targeting child predators, had resulted in the arrest of 26 people from April to June, including the shut down of 15 websites for displaying child sexual abuse materials.

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