NORRISTOWN >> A Pottstown man was sent to jail after he admitted to possessing child pornography on his home computer equipment.
Kenneth Gene Waterman Jr., 52, of the 700 block of Willow Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 111/2 to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of possession of child pornography in connection with incidents that occurred between January and May of 2014. Judge Gary S. Silow also ordered Waterman to complete three years’ probation following parole, meaning Waterman will be under court supervision for about five years.
Waterman also will have to report his address to state police on a regular basis once he is released from jail.
Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan prosecuted the case. Waterman was represented by defense lawyer Basil Beck.
An investigation of Waterman began in January 2014 when an officer with the Lower Heidelberg Township Police Department in Berks County was conducting undercover investigations into Internet sharing of child pornography and located a computer linked to Waterman that was sharing child porn, according to the arrest affidavit. The officer was able to make a direct connection to the computer sharing the files and viewed the suspect digital images.
The Berks officer forwarded the investigation to members of the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crime Unit and Pottstown Police, court papers indicate and a warrant to search Waterman’s residence was obtained on May 22, 2014. During the search, Waterman admitted to authorities that he used a file sharing program for several years “to search for, download and view files, including child pornography files,” according to the arrest affidavit.
“Waterman Jr. stated he has tried to stop looking for it but he cannot stop and he looked at child pornography today,” state police Corporal Michael Fegley wrote in the arrest affidavit. “Waterman Jr. stated he used it for sexual gratification because that was the point of it. He stated he has never had any inappropriate contact with anyone.”
A forensic examination of Waterman’s computer equipment located the file sharing software and 14 image files that depicted children under the age of 18 in various stages of undress or engaged in prohibited sexual activity, according to the criminal complaint.
