Click here to subscribe today or Login.
HAZLE TWP. — A Hazle Twp. man is facing charges related to the possession of child pornography, police say.
Gregory Yorker, of 4011 Hollywood Blvd., was arraigned by MDJ James M. Dixon on Thursday after an investigation revealed the 52-year-old had been viewing images and videos depicting toddlers and prepubescent children performing lewd acts.
According to the affidavit, Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office Detectives Richard Naporava and Charles Balogh received a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (MCMEC) in regards to a file of apparent child sexual abuse material uploaded to a Google Drive account under Yorker’s name.
Upon reviewing the Cybertip, investigators observed that Google provided an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the file upload, which was registered to PenTeleData.
On Nov. 16, an administrative subpoena to access the subscriber information was served on PenTeleData and the following day, on Nov. 17, investigators discovered that the IP address was assigned to Greg Yorker.
A search through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation records matched the Hollywood Boulevard address associated with the subscriber information.
On Thursday, Detectives Naporava and Balogh, along with members of the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children’s Task Force and Pennsylvania State Police — Northeast Computer Task Force (NECCTF), executed a search warrant at the residence, in which they encountered Yorker inside.
Yorker was interviewed inside the home, where he advised investigators that he was recently notified by Google that his account was closed but couldn’t recall the language Google used in the notification.
Investigators asked if Yorker had ever seen child pornography on the internet and he stated that he had not within the past 20 years. Yorker also related that he was aware that child pornography existed but that he would never use the word “teen” when searching for pornography.
Inside the residence, investigators located several electronic devices, which Yorker related were his and that he was the only person to use them.
Members of the Pennsylvania State Police — Northeast Computer Crime Task Force performed forensic previews on the electronic devices and located several video files containing child sexual abuse material.
Yorker faces six felony counts of sexual abuse of children and two felony counts of criminal use of a communication facility.
His bail is set at $150,000 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. inside the Luzerne County Courthouse.