Pennsylvania State Senator Arrested On Charges Of Possessing Child Porn
Prosecutors in Pennsylvania have charged a state senator with possession of child pornography after authorities traced an explicit image involving a minor to the senator's personal computer.
Police arrested state Sen. Mike Folmer on Tuesday at his home about an hour outside of Harrisburg. During a search of Folmer's cellphone, investigators say they found two other suspected images of child pornography.
Folmer, 63, who is married and has seven grandchildren, told police that he "had been dealing with some personal problems," according to a criminal complaint filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.
Folmer told investigators that he had received the initial image, apparently showing a sex act involving a young girl, through his Tumblr blog, according to court documents. But prosecutors say it was Folmer who uploaded the image to the social media site in December 2017 under the screen name hoser44.
Tumblr flagged the image to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in February, court documents state. Authorities issued subpoenas earlier this year to Yahoo, AT&T Wireless and Comcast to recover account details provided by Tumblr.
Folmer has been charged with three counts of possession of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement that "no one is above the law, no matter what position of power they hold. I will continue to work to protect children and hold those who abuse them accountable."
Calls and emails sent to Folmer by NPR were not immediately returned.
Gov. Tom Wolf has called on Folmer to step down.
"The charges against Senator Folmer are disgusting and beyond comprehension, and show he has taken advantage of the trust and privilege afforded by the people of Pennsylvania. He should immediately resign," Wolf said Wednesday.
Republican leadership in the state Senate released a statement saying they were shocked to learn of Folmer's arrest and that he was being removed as chair of the Senate State Government Committee.
"Further action in response to these charges will be taken by Senate Leadership in the coming days," the lawmakers said.
Folmer has been a member of the state Senate since 2007 and was reelected to a fourth term last year. He is considered one of the more conservative members of the Legislature. Last year, he opposed a bill that would have made it easier for survivors of child sex abuse to sue their perpetrators by extending the statute of limitations. Folmer opposed the effort to allow victims to sue predators decades after alleged abuse on constitutional grounds.
He was an instrumental voice in building Republican support for legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, an effort that became law in 2016. His advocacy made some in the state capital dub him Marijuana Mike. [Copyright 2019 NPR]
