A Dover man is among the five Pennsylvania men arrested today on unrelated charges as part of ongoing efforts to target the online sharing, downloading and distribution of child pornography. The arrests occurred over the past week in counties throughout the Commonwealth including, Lehigh, Northampton, Susquehanna, Washington and York.
The defendants are identified as:
- Robert Grubb III, 22, 4053 Fox Run Road, Dover, York County;
- David Ziegler, 26, 732 Grove St., Catasauqua, Northampton County;
- David Kohut, 54, 2329 North 1st Ave., Whitehall, Lehigh County;
- Clark Collins, 48, 45 Franklin St., Susquehanna, Susquehanna County; and
- Matthew Vaughan, 44, 1039 Elizabeth Road, McMurray, Washington County.
Robert Grubb III
Robert Grubb III was arrested on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, following an undercover investigation into the dissemination of child pornography. Agents, who were conducting an online investigation, identified a computer on a peer-to-peer network sharing media files believed to depict child pornography.
According to the criminal complaint, agents successfully downloaded four of those files, which depicted children engaged in graphic sexual acts and poses. The computer’s IP address, which was allegedly making the files available, was later traced to Grubb.
Computer forensics agents completed a full forensic analysis on evidence seized during the course of the investigation and discovered more than 500 files containing suspected child pornography. Some of the images allegedly contained children as young as 2 years old.
Grubb is charged with 25 counts of possession of child pornography, four counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. He was held in the York County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 30, 2014.
The case will be prosecuted in York County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Jones of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.
David Ziegler
The charges state that agents conducting an undercover investigation successfully downloaded one file that was being made available on a peer-to-peer network. Agents determined that the downloaded file contained approximately 50 images depicting prepubescent children, under the age of 18 engaged in sexually graphic acts and poses.
The computer’s IP address was determined to serve Ziegler’s Northampton County residence. Agents from the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section and officers from the North Catasauqua Police Department executed a search of the home and seized a computer, which was previewed and found to contain more than 150 image files of suspected child pornography.
Ziegler was arrested on Tuesday, July 22, 2014, and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. He was released on $40,000 – 10 percent bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2014.
The case will be prosecuted in Northampton County by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Elo of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.
Attorney General Kane thanked the North Catasauqua Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
David Kohut
According to the criminal complaint, Kohut used a peer-to-peer network in order to make files – containing prepubescent children engaged in graphic sexual acts – available for download. Agents conducting an undercover investigation successfully downloaded one of those files and identified Kohut’s Whitehall residence as the source through the computer’s IP address.
A search of Kohut’s home resulted in the seizure of several computers and computer equipment. Forensic agents found more than 30 videos of apparent child pornography on two of the computers.
Kohut was taken into custody by agents from the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section on Tuesday, July 22, 2014, and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
He was held in the Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $500,000 – 10 percent bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 29, 2014. The case will be prosecuted in Lehigh County by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Elo of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.
Attorney General Kane thanked the Whitehall Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
Clark Collins
The charges state that agents, who were conducting an online investigation, identified a computer on a peer-to-peer network making several media files – believed to depict child pornography – available for download. Agents successfully downloaded five of those files and later identified the computer’s IP address as serving Collins’ Susquehanna County residence.
Agents and officers from the Susquehanna Depot Police Department executed a search of Collins’s home and seized a laptop computer that was found to contain more than 50 image and video files of suspected child pornography.
Collins was arrested on Monday, July 21, 2014, and charged with 50 counts of possession of child pornography, five counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
Following his arrest Collins was held in the Susquehanna County Prison in lieu of $100,000 – 10 percent bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28, 2014.
Attorney General Kane thanked the Susquehanna Depot Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
The case will be prosecuted in Lackawanna County by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Elo of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.
Matthew Vaughan
The Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section began an investigation into Vaughan following a cyber-tip line report generated through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
According to the criminal complaint, Vaughan disseminated an email that contained suspected child pornography through his Gmail account. The file allegedly depicted children, under the age of 18, engaged in graphic sexual acts and poses.
Agents, along with officers from the Canonsburg Police Department executed a search of Vaughan’s residence and seized a laptop computer, which was previewed by computer forensics agents and found to contain suspected child pornography.
Vaughan was taken into custody on Monday, July 21, 2014 and charged with six counts of possession of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
Attorney General Kane thanked the Canonsburg Police Department, the Peters Township Police Department, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Google for their assistance with the investigation.
The case will be prosecuted in Washington County by Deputy Attorney General Anthony Marmo of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.
Reporting Internet Predators
Suspected Internet predators can be reported to the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section by calling the Child Predator Hotline at 1-800-385-1044. Anonymous tips can also be sent directly from a cell phone by texting PAKIDS + YOUR TIP to 847411 or through an online complaint form.
Internet safety tips are available on the “Operation Safe Surf” section of www.attorneygeneral.gov. Organizations interested in materials, speakers or presentations should contact the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Unit at 1-800-525-7642 or via email at education@attorneygeneral.gov.