An Upper Gwynedd man who was charged with 50 counts of possession of child pornography in August is facing new charges, after he allegedly caused a two-vehicle crash in Montgomery Township late last month.
Police were dispatched to the area of Bethlehem Pike and Hartman Road on Sept. 24 at 6:21 p.m. for a report of a two-vehicle accident. Upon arrival, police spoke with the driver of the striking vehicle—identified as 32-year-old Kyle Sheehan, of Upper Gwynedd—who stated that he looked down to change his Spotify application, and when he looked back up, he struck the vehicle in front of him, according to the criminal complaint.
Sheehan was checked for injuries at the scene, and refused treatment from the Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale, police said. The complaint makes no mention of the other driver sustaining injuries.
As police spoke with Sheehan, they noticed that he had glassy, bloodshot eyes and his speech was slow and methodical, the report states. When police asked Sheehan if he had consumed any alcohol, he reportedly stated “Can I ask you for a favor? If we are off the record, can I have somebody pick me up,” according to the complaint.
Police then requested that Sheehan perform a series of field sobriety tests, and the complaint states that he showed signs of impairment on each test performed. Sheehan was then taken into custody, and he later consented to providing a blood sample, the complaint states.
On Oct. 4, police received the results of the blood test, which showed that Sheehan allegedly had a blood-alcohol content of .252-percent—which is more than three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania—at the time of his arrest.
As a result of the incident, Sheehan has been charged with misdemeanor counts of DUI and a summary count of following too closely. Though the criminal docket states that the DUI charges are for a first offense, court records indicate that Sheehan plead guilty to a previous DUI charge in 2014. He was given ARD in that case.
His preliminary hearing on the new DUI charges is scheduled for Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy.
Sheehan was previously arrested on 50 counts of possession of child pornography on Aug. 29, following a 10 month investigation by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau.
That investigation began on Nov. 2018, after detectives received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding suspected child pornography that had been posted via Sheehan’s Tumblr account. After executing a search warrant on Sheehan’s residence, investigators allegedly recovered 73 files containing child pornography, many of which were images depicting early teenage boys who were naked or partially clothed posed in a sexually provocative manner, according to the complaint.
Sheehan remains free on $25,000 unsecured bail. His next court appearance for the child pornography charges is a formal arraignment at the Montgomery County Courthouse on Nov. 20 at 9:30 a.m.
(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
See also:
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Man Steals From Hatfield 7-Eleven Three Times In Three Hours, Arrested On Fourth Attempt: Police
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