HARRISBURG, Pa. — A convicted Megan's Law offender residing in a Harrisburg work-release housing facility is facing additional charges after he was allegedly found to be in possession of child pornography during a search of his room, according to State Police.
James Dale Blankenship, 57, was arrested on August 23 after an alleged incident at Keystone Correctional Services on the 7200 block of Allentown Boulevard in West Hanover Township, according to police.
A caseworker at the facility contacted authorities after a staff member searched Blankenship's room and found images of suspected child pornography stored on his cellphone, police said. The staff member discovered the images while searching the mobile device with Blankenship's consent, according to police.
According to the state Department of Corrections, Blankenship is barred from viewing or possessing pornography, police claim.
Some of the images found in Blankenship's possession included images of children aged 8 to 14, according to police.
In an interview with investigators, Blankenship claimed the pornography was from an "old account" on his phone, and that he was unable to remove the bookmarked links to pornography websites that staff members discovered.
Blankenship allegedly admitted that the phone belonged to him, and that to his knowledge no one else had tampered with it, police said.
He was charged with felony counts of possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility and a misdemeanor count of corruption of minors, according to police.
Blankenship was remanded to Dauphin County Prison after failing to post bail of $5,000, according to court records. He is awaiting a preliminary hearing.
