A man in Lower Burrell is accused of having child pornography after being approached by a civilian group that catches child predators, as per the police.
On Tuesday, David J. Holmes, 54, was charged by Lower Burrell police with 26 counts of child pornography and one count each of unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors.
Shafiq Blake, who works for “Predator Catchers PA,” sought help from the police on Feb. 18 in a parking lot on Leechburg Road, where he was confronting a man named Holmes who allegedly thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl for sex.
According to a police complaint, Blake was actively confronting Holmes, who believed he was speaking with a 13-year-old girl online and intended to meet her for sex at the parking lot.
Police examined Instagram messages between Holmes and someone posing as a 13-year-old girl named “Zoe”. The messages showed that “Zoe” clearly stated her age and grade, and Holmes discussed performing sexual acts and requested nude images from her.
The next day, the police obtained a search warrant and took away Holmes' iPhone and iPad.
When questioned by the police, Holmes mentioned that “Zoe” messaged him from State College and indicated she liked older men. He also claimed to the police that he knew it was a setup and that “Zoe” was actually a man.
Holmes said to the police that he assumed he would be caught soon after the confrontation but denied asking “Zoe” for sex. He also stated that he was the only one with access to his iPhone and iPad.
However, Holmes admitted to the police that he knew “Zoe” was 13, and he acknowledged that he made a foolish decision to meet her.
Holmes told the police that they would find a significant amount of pornography on his iPad.
Further review of the search warrant uncovered explicit image exchanges between Holmes and the person pretending to be a 13-year-old, and instances where Holmes was soliciting her for sex.
Holmes is currently in custody at the Westmoreland County Prison and is unable to post $250,000 bond, with a preliminary arraignment scheduled for April 9 before District Judge Cheryl Peck-Yakopec.
