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WILKES-BARRE — A Larksville man pleaded guilty to 500 counts of child pornography and related charges Thursday.
Phillip Andrew Asher, 59, entered the plea before Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. In total, Asher pleaded guilty to 500 individual felony counts of child pornography, along with seven counts of disseminating photos of child-sex acts.
Asher entered the guilty plea as part of a deal where prosecutors agreed to withdraw four counts of criminal use of a communication facility.
Sklarosky set sentencing for April 3. Asher was also ordered to have no contact with minors or places that minors frequent. He can also have no internet access.
According to court records:
Asher was arrested in June after Yahoo contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Yahoo told the NCMEC on Feb. 9, 2017, about a member who uploaded five images of minor females and possible child porn.
Luzerne County detectives eventually tracked down Asher through a subpoena to Metrocast Cablevision, his internet service provider.
Investigators seized a DVD, a CD and a Compaq desktop computer from his home.
The State Police Computer Crime Unit said it found “hundreds of images/videos of child pornography” on the seized equipment.
After his guilty plea, Asher was sent back to the county lockup to await sentencing.