Freeport man's hearing set Tues.
FREEPORT — A hearing will be held next week for a borough man accused of possessing and distributing child pornography.
Stephen Dale McGuire, 40, was arrested Nov. 23 following an online investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Child Predator Section.
The undercover investigation targeted a peer-to-peer file-sharing network that snared McGuire, authorities said. Investigators eventually located images of suspected child pornography linked to an IP address associated with McGuire.
While executing a search warrant at the defendant’s home in the 200 block of First Street, according to to court documents, state agents along with Freeport police seized a laptop computer and two electronic media storage devices “containing files indicative of child pornography.”
McGuire was arrested and arraigned on 22 felony charges, including 20 counts of possession of child pornography and one count each of distribution of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility.
The defendant was placed in the Armstrong County Jail on $25,000 bail following arraignment.
A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday at the office of District Judge Gary Decomo in Ford City.
