Thomas Bowes, 38, of Towamencin. Credit: Lower Merion Township Police.
A Towamencin man charged with possession of child pornography, and who Lower Merion Township Police allege had explicit communication with an undercover detective posing as an underage girl in October, waived his preliminary hearing April 9 and remains free on bail pending trial, according to The Reporter.
Thomas Albert Bowes, 39, of the 700 block of Springhouse Court, will stand trial in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas on charges of possession of child pornography, distributing child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communication facility, possessing an instrument of crime, and identity theft, according to court documents.
A joint online investigation was launched in October 2023 between the ICAC task force and members of the Lower Merion Police Department seeking to locate online predators on several social media platforms. Bowes allegedly responded to a post on the app "Whisper” believing it was made by a 13-year-old girl, and a lengthy, sexually explicit text conversation ensued, police said.
Investigators said they traced the IP address attached to the Whisper account, which resulted in a search warrant being executed at Bowes’ home in the Morgandale neighborhood on Nov. 16, 2023. During the execution of the warrant, police seized Bowes’ cellphone, which was later forensically downloaded and found to contain multiple videos and images of child pornography, investigators said.
Charges were officially filed against Bowes on Jan. 2, and he was taken into custody and arraigned on Jan. 15 by Magisterial District Judge John Kessler.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Caroline Goldstein. Attorney information for Bowes was not immediately available.
Bowes was formally arraigned in county court on Wednesday, per court documents. He is represented by Andrew Joseph Levin of Conshohocken.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
