A Towamencin man is in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility following his arrest on child pornography charges stemming from an undercover operation conducted by the Montgomery County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Thomas Bowes, 38, of Springhouse Court, has been charged with 10 felony counts of possession of child pornography, as well as additional felony counts of dissemination of child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility. He’s currently being held in lieu of 10% of $20,000 cash bail.
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. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Feb. 13 at 10:15 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Michael Quinn.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Caroline Goldstein. Attorney information for Bowes was not immediately available.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
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