A Hatfield Township man is facing felony child pornography charges following a joint investigation between the Hatfield Township Police Department and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
In July 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip regarding a Snapchat user who sent a video depicting the suspected sexual abuse of a child. A review of the file showed an unidentified juvenile female between the ages of 10 and 14 years old performing oral sex on an adult male, according to the complaint.
Detectives with the Hatfield Township Police Department received the tip on Aug. 16, 2021, and subsequently launched an investigation.
The report states police traced the email and IP addresses contained within the cybertip to 19-year-old Joseph Morrissey and his home on Anthony Drive in the Colmar section of the township. Investigators also filed a search warrant with Snapchat, which allegedly showed that Morrissey had shared the video with a group of users on the social media platform.
The investigation was transferred to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on Jan. 5. Two days later, federal, state and local law enforcement served a search warrant on the home. Morrissey was not home at the time, however he arrived at the scene after receiving a call from investigators, the report states.
Police said Morrissey initially denied owning a Snapchat account, but later admitted to having created a new account after his previous account “got banned” for sending nude photos. When an investigator pointed out that sending nudes was not illegal, Morrissey allegedly said “young nudes” and began to cry, according to the complaint.
Police said Morrissey would use an unidentified social media site to identify Snapchat users who would trade pornography. Morrissey initially told police that he had traded pics of his ex-girlfriend, however when investigators asked about the age of his ex-girlfriend, Morrissey backtracked and said he instead used images from an unidentified “leaked nudes” website to trade for the first child pornography video, according to the complaint.
Morrissey then traded the first child pornography video for a second, similar video, depicting a juvenile female performing oral sex on an adult male, police said. The report states that Morrissey told investigators that he deleted the files approximately one week after trading for them, as he had felt guilty for masturbating to the videos.
Charges were filed against Morrissey on Jan. 25, and he voluntarily surrendered on Jan. 28, according to court records. District Judge Andrea Duffy arraigned Morrissey that morning and set bail at $25,000 unsecured.
His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. in front of Judge Duffy.
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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