Kane man accused of uploading child porn image to internet
A Kane man is accused of uploading an image of child pornography to the internet in January.
Curtis A. Haight, 64, of 9839 Route 6, Kane, was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge David Engman on charges of sexual abuse of children, criminal use of a communication facility and disseminating photograhs/film of child sex acts, all third-degree felonies.
Haight must register as a sex offender due to prior convictions. The Pennsylvania State Police Megan’s Law website indicates he was convicted on Sept. 29, 2004, of a charge of transportation of child pornography, and he was convicted on Nov. 19, 2001, of criminal solicitation-sexual exploitation of children, attempted sexual abuse of children and sexual abuse of children.
He has been deemed a sexually violent predator, the Megan’s Law website states.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the new case, Google’s legal team contacted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s Cyber Tipline regarding an image of child pornography that was stored in the Google Photos infrastructure.
Court records stated that the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crime Unit was informed and given information about the Google user who was being reported, including Haight’s name, cell phone number and two email addresses.
The IP address was used to find the internet service provider, Comcast Cable Communications, and after an administrative subpoena was signed, the company provided subscriber information connected to the IP address. The physical address connected to the subscriber was Haight’s address, court records indicate.
More information was found through two other NCMEC Cybertips, and investigators learned the account holder was possibly a registered sex offender.
On Tuesday, police executed a search warrant at Haight’s residence. Haight was there and agreed to talk to officers. He admitted to having “a lot” of images of child pornography on his tablet computer, which was located in a camper where he stays at night, according to court records.
Haight is in McKean County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Feb. 20.
Titusville man charged with trespassing in blighted home
Neighbors and fresh snow helped Bradford City Police track down a man accused of trespassing in a blighted structure.
Richard I. Foster, 35, of 13618 Newton Town Road, Titusville, was arrested and arraigned Monday before District Judge Richard Luther on a charge of criminal trespass, a third-degree felony.
The criminal complaint states that at 9:03 a.m. Monday, Bradford City Police were called to 59 Clarence St. for a report of a man entering an empty, placarded residence.
The city’s Board of Health declared the house to be a public nuisance in 2019 due to significant damage.
According to court records, the officer arrived to see fresh footprints in the snow leading to the side door. When he went on the porch, he could see that the window in the door was broken out and the rear entry door to the side of the house was wide open.
The officer went inside and could hear something moving around, so he announced his presence and told the person to come out. He checked upstairs and could hear something downstairs. When he went downstairs, he could hear something in the basement. The officer went to the basement to find fresh tracks in the snow leading outside through the partially broken basement door.
He went outside, and a male neighbor told the officer he just saw a man run from the house and behind other houses, the complaint stated.
According to the complaint, the officer followed the footprints to the back door of 45 Clarence St., where the woman told the officer that “Richie F.” was just there but ran out the front of the house. The officer found a set of footprints going out the front door, but they ended in the street. She did not really know Foster except that he went by “Richie F.”
At 12:54 p.m., the officer received another call about the man — Foster — returning to 59 Clarence St. The caller reported that Foster was also seen running into 40 Clarence St. At 40 Clarence, a woman told the officer that “Richie F.” was just there but he left, court records stated. This woman only met him a week prior and did not know his full name. She said Foster was homeless.
Another officer reported that Foster was hiding in the shed after finding fresh footprints that led from 40 Clarence St. Police found Foster in the shed, according to the complaint.
Foster was committed to McKean County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail, and he is to appear in Central Court on Feb. 20.
