YORK, Pa. — A Wrightsville man is accused of sharing child pornography on messaging apps.
Police began investigating Brandon Dunlap, 21, after receiving tips from Snapchat and Kik that he was sharing explicit photos and videos of children.
Police received information from the social messaging platforms between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, 2021, that accused Dunlap of sending suspected child pornography to others on the apps. After investigating this information, officers conducted a search warrant at Dunlap's residence in the 100 block of Sam Spur Lane.
There, they seized two phones belonging to the suspect.
According to a criminal complaint, Dunlap wished to speak to police without an attorney present. He allegedly told officers that his phone had been hacked, and the same thing had also happened before. He claimed he had not been on Kik for over a year and had made a new Snapchat account due to the hacking.
Dunlap allegedly denied possessing or watching any child pornography and said that there was nothing illegal on the two phones seized.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, officers on scene then showed Dunlap some of the evidence they had gathered from Kik and Snapchat and advised him that the video had been sent from his account. Upon viewing the evidence, Dunlap allegedly asked to speak to two of the officers privately.
Officers say that once in confidence, the suspect admitted that he did recognize the images and that he trades pornography on Omegle but makes sure the other party is 18 years old. Dunlap allegedly told officers that he had received the link containing the evidence they showed him from another subject on Omegle and that he knew it was child pornography because of the way it was labeled.
According to a criminal complaint, Dunlap then confided that he would take the link from Omegle and post it on Snapchat, where he would send it to whoever requested it. The suspect maintained that he did not view the pornography himself but would forward it to others.
Dunlap allegedly claimed that he did not know this practice was illegal since he was not viewing the explicit material.
The suspect then admitted that there would probably be other photos, videos and links to child pornography found on his phones, which he used to send pornography in the past, according to an affidavit. He also then allegedly admitted to viewing some of the material himself.
Dunlap explained to officers that he had grown up in an environment that he described as a sex and child porn ring. According to police, the suspect said that due to his upbringing and status as a child victim, he believed what he was doing was normal and not wrong.
According to a criminal complaint, Dunlap's seized phones were processed and officers found no further evidence of child pornography.
Dunlap was arraigned on Dec. 16 on two felony charges including child pornography and sexual abuse of children.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 26.
