Nazareth man faces child pornography, corruption of minors charges - UPDATE

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

A Nazareth man faces child sex abuse charges after sending more than 25 text messages to a 12-year-old girl and encouraging her to send him photographs, borough police said this morning.

Christopher Rothrock, 45, of the 300 block of Belvidere Street, faces a charge of sexual abuse of children - possession of child pornography and two charges of corruption of minors, police said.

Rothrock was arraigned this morning in front of District Judge John Capobianco in Nazareth and released on $75,000 unsecured bail.

Rothrock contacted the child Feb. 13, 2011, making several sexual references and asking the child to send photos of a similar nature, according to court papers.

The child's parents discovered the text messages and contacted Rothrock on Feb. 14. Rothrock said "it got out of control" and he "got over excited," according to court papers.

Authorities found two deleted photos of the child on Rothrock's cell phone, according to court papers. Additional images on Rothrock's phone "were consistent with child pornography," according to court papers.

Computer-related devices were found March 18 during a search of Rothrock's home, according to court papers. On Dec. 12, the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crime Laboratory gave borough police thousands of images and several video files of child pornography that were found on Rothrock's electronic devices, according to court papers.

When Nazareth and state police spoke with Rothrock on Wednesday, he admitted the devices taken from his home contained child pornography, according to court papers.

As part of Rothrock's conditional release, Capobianco has ordered him to refrain from any contact with the victim or the victim's family and must also undergo a mental health evaluation.

A preliminary hearing has been set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 23.

As he left the district court following the arraignment, Rothrock declined to comment on the charges and told reporters to "go away."

Nazareth Borough police Chief Thomas Trachta credited the arrest to "outstanding police work" by arresting officer Jacob Abel and added that the department will continue to investigate the matter.

"The citizens of Nazareth can rest assure that the NBPD will investigate and follow up on all crimes committed in Nazareth and do everything legally possible to bring violators to justice," said Trachta.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2012/01/nazareth_man_faces_child_porno.html