Beach Lake man arrested on child pornography charges

BEACH LAKE — Police arrested Edward James Franklin, 52, on charges relating to child pornography. Franklin received 28 total felony counts for charges of Possession of Child Pornography, Dissemination of Child Pornography and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility.

Police issued charges following an investigation which kicked off in January 2021 when MeWe, Inc. and Instagram issued six reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) of child pornography being uploaded to their sites. Court papers state the illicit material uploaded included various pictures and a 14-second video.

Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) traced the IP address issued along with these reports, alleging it routes to Franklin's address.

The affidavit notes PSP acquired a warrant to search Franklin's residence in November, 2021, nearly a year after the NCMEC received the initial reports. Court papers state Franklin was at work when PSP arrived at his house to issue the warrant. PSP contacted him and requested he meet them at the Dunmore barracks to be interviewed.

Court papers state during the interview Franklin claimed he was unaware of the accounts which uploaded the illicit pictures. When police asked for the passwords to unlock Franklin's electronic devices at his residence he allegedly supplied false information.

Police confiscated Franklin's phone and a laptop computer. Searching the computer's hard drive, PSP allegedly found 32 pornographic images, seven of which depicted children. Examining data from Franklin's cell phone, police allege they located access to the profiles connected to the NCMEC reports. The affidavit further claims Franklin's phone contained 14 images of child erotica/pornography.

Franklin waved his right to a formal arraignment. His court appearance had not been scheduled as of the time of writing.