EPHRATA, Pa. – A 52-year-old convicted sex offender was arrested last week after police in Lancaster County found hundreds of images of child pornography on his computer.
Authorities charged Bruce Schmidt, of Lebanon, with two counts of possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility.
According to police reports, Schmidt dropped off his computer at an Ephrata repair shop on earlier this year. A technician contacted investigators after discovering child pornography on the device.
A forensic examination uncovered the presence of hundreds of images of suspected child pornography and thousands of images of child erotica, police said.
Schmidt turned himself in on May 8. He was taken to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.
He was convicted in March 2014 of indecent assault on a child less than 13 years old and corruption of minors. Schmidt has been a registered sexual offender on the state’s Megan’s Law website since August 2014.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 18.