EPHRATA, Pa. — A Lancaster County man is facing multiple charges of possession of child pornography after police claim to have discovered 889 illicit images saved to his computer.
Gregory Drake, 64, is charged with three felony counts of possession of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility by Ephrata Borough Police, who began investigating him in October 2023 after receiving multiple cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
According to the criminal complaint affidavit filed by police, the NCMEC sent five cyber tips to authorities regarding the illegal downloading of images depicting child porn. The tips included an IP address that investigators with the Lancaster County Digital Forensics Unit traced to Drake's residence.
Police executed a search warrant at Drake's home on Dec. 8, 2023. Investigators seized a laptop and USB drive belonging to Drake, according to the complaint.
During an interview with investigators, Drake allegedly admitted to downloading and possessing child pornography, which he said he watched for sexual gratification, the complaint states.
A forensic examination of the electronic devices belonging to Drake uncovered 889 images of suspected child pornography, police claim. Of the 889 images found, eight were videos depicting indecent contact, two were videos of a naked child over the age of 10, 96 were images depicting indecent contact, 270 were images of a naked child over the age of 10 and 513 were images depicting a naked child under the age of 10, according to police.
Drake was arrested earlier this month and arraigned on the charges. He is currently being held in Lancaster County Prison after failing to post bail of $25,000, according to court records.
A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday, March 5.
