Authorities charged an 18-year-old Scranton resident with possessing child sexual abuse materials and condemned his squalid home.
Sebastion McHale, 18, of Prospect Avenue in South Scranton, is accused of possession of child pornography, dissemination of photographs, videos or computer depictions of child sex acts and criminal use of a communication facility, Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher announced Friday.
An investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received CyberTipline reports from Discord and Instagram concerning suspected child sexual abuse material allegedly uploaded through accounts connected to the Prospect Avenue residence.
On Thursday, detectives from the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office, the Northeast Computer Crime Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at the home and seized multiple electronic devices for forensic examination.
According to the criminal complaint, McHale admitted during a recorded interview that he created and used the reported accounts and used a mobile device to possess and disseminate child sexual abuse material.
Details and allegations contained in an affidavit include:
The crimes allegedly occurred between May 30 and Thursday. McHale lived at the residence with his grandmother but they were not home when detectives went there Thursday to execute a search warrant. After making no contact at the door, they discovered it was unlocked and entered.
Police say they found the interior in deplorable condition and it appeared to be a hoarding situation. Animal feces covered portions of the floors and an overwhelming odor of cat urine permeated the premises. Counters, couches and beds were covered with dirty dishes, garbage and rotten food. In an upstairs bedroom, detectives found a deceased cat among piles of animal feces.
Detectives left and returned wearing HAZMAT gear to be able to safely search for and identify digital devices. Due to the condition of the residence, detectives contacted the code enforcement, Area Agency on Aging and Animal Control offices. A city housing inspector/code-enforcement officer condemned the residence.
Detectives made contact with the grandmother. She and McHale were returning from out of town and were told to go the District Attorney’s Office to speak with detectives. They told her of her residence getting condemned.
Police said McHale waived his Miranda rights and spoke with the officers. He eventually admitted he created user accounts to possess and disseminate child sexual abuse materials. He said he did not have a mobile phone and used his grandmother’s phone to download the applications that were used, save the files to the phone, disseminate the files and then delete the applications and files, according to arrest papers.
He did not leave anything at surface level for his grandmother to find on her phone. He said he started by looking at anime child porn and then moved on to “real life” child pornography. Told about her grandson’s use of her phone, the grandmother voluntarily turned it over to detectives.
Asked about the dead cat, McHale said they had been meaning to get rid of it.
Law enforcement will continue to collaborate to remove pedophiles and those attracted to children, Gallagher said in a statement. He thanked Lackawanna County Detectives John Kane and Sheryl Turner, the Northeast Computer Crime Unit, the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for their assistance and commitment to protecting children from sexual exploitation.
The investigation remains ongoing pending additional forensic analysis.