(Editor's note: some details from the investigation have been redacted in order to protect the privacy of the victims.)
A Telford man is behind bars after investigators said he sexually
abused two young girls and took upskirt
photos of another.
Allen Kraus, 39, has been charged with two counts of aggravated indecent assault, two counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of criminal use of a communication facility, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age and three counts of invasion of privacy, in connection with the investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, Hilltown Police received a complaint from Bucks County Children and Youth at 6:04 p.m. on April 12 regarding inappropriate photos that were found on Kraus’ phone. The images reportedly showed that Kraus had taken an upskirt photo of a 10-year-old female and had also had indecent contact with an 8-year-old female, the report states.
Later that evening, investigators met with the complainant, who stated that the 10-year-old victim told them that Kraus bent down next to her and she heard him take a photo with his phone while it was aimed up her skirt, the report states. The complainant then checked Kraus’ phone, where they found the upskirt image of the victim as well as other images and videos of child pornography, according to the complaint.
At that time, the complainant sent the files from Kraus’ phone to their own phone, then provided the files to investigators as evidence, the report states. The complainant added that Kraus had confessed to inappropriately touching the 8-year-old victim earlier that day, according to the report.
Investigators then performed a forensic download of the complainant’s phone — containing the files from Kraus’ phone — which returned multiple images and videos of teenage and prepubescent children engaged in sexual activities, the report states.
On April 13, investigators spoke with Kraus, who turned over his Apple iPhone and admitted to using the phone to take upskirt photos of the 10-year-old victim, police said. When asked why he took the photos, Kraus stated “The devil got hold of me,” then also admitted to fondling the 8-year-old victim, the report states.
Police questioned Kraus about a video on his phone of an adult male raping a child believed to be between the ages of 5 and 6 years old, at which point Kraus confessed that he had downloaded the file to his phone using the Telegram application, the report states. Kraus confessed to other instances of using the Telegram application to download child pornography, and he also confessed to fondling the 10-year-old victim in addition to taking the upskirt photo, according to the report.
Investigators would later discover that a third victim — a 16-year-old female — stated that Kraus had taken an upskirt photo of her in March, according to the report.
Kraus was taken into custody on April 27 and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Regina Armitage, who set bail at 10% of $500,000 cash. Kraus was then transported to the Bucks County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Armitage on May 11 at 1 p.m.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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