Former Democratic State Representative of Pennsylvania Jesse White has been charged after a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid revealed over 100 files of child porn, according to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
According to the documents, the FBI received a complaint flagged as child pornography on July 20 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The complaint was filed through the NCMEC’s Cybertipline on June 19. According to court documents, the files collected were flagged as homemade content.
Special Agents with the FBI reviewed the files, which reportedly depicted fully nude boys participating in various lewd acts. Agents took a close look at the evidence in the pictures and noted that the photographer of these photos was a white male, wearing a ring and using a phone to photograph a boy visible in a reflection.
Agents then traced the metadata of the photos back to an iPhone and were able to deduce that the image was taken in August 2021. Agents were also able to deduce that the boys pictured were between 9 and 11 years old.
According to the court documents, the FBI were able to identify White as a suspect based on the metadata of the images and the evidence left behind in the photo. Agents then began investigating White’s accounts across encrypted messaging platforms ProtonMail and Telegram, which are frequently used to retain anonymity.
The following day, July 21, the FBI conducted a search warrant of White’s residence on the 1800 block of Vista Drive in Mechanicsburg. While the search warrant was being carried out, officials seized two computers and multiple external hard drives. Agents also found a 20-terabyte external hard drive mounted to one of the laptops. Within White’s devices, authorities found that White allegedly sorted a trove of files titles with estimated ages depicting minors from seven to 15 engaged in various sexually explicit activities.
Beyond the initial identification of the files on White’s hard drives, FBI agents reportedly found over 100 additional files of child porn buried in his “Z” drive. These files contained many minors engaged in various sexual acts and lewd positions. Additionally, agents allegedly located more child pornography on White’s MacBook in a file labeled “Jesse White”.
While searching White’s residence, White reportedly admitted to the FBI that he was using Telegram and Bit Torrent to share files of child porn with others on the dark web. He further reportedly relayed to agents that he has accessed what he called “inappropriate content” while using a dark web browsing client “Tor.”
FOX43 attempted to contact White’s attorney for a statement but did not receive a comment. White is currently in custody of the court. According to court documents, he was listed as a danger to the public and as a flight risk. He has waived his right to preliminary hearing.
Jesse White served as a state representative for Pennsylvania’s former 46th district, which covered parts of Allegheny, Beaver and Washington Counties. White held office from 2008 to 2014.