WEST CHESTER, PA — The Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced that 73-year-old James Jay Martin of Landenberg was arrested and charged with 100 counts of possessing child pornography depicting girls aged 3 to16 engaged in sexual acts or being raped by adult males.
DA Deb Ryan said, “My office will never tolerate the exploitation and abuse of children. The images the defendant possessed on his computer are among the most disturbing and horrifying violations of children. These innocent victims deserve our protection from this defendant and others like him, and we will do everything in our power to secure justice.”
Authorities state that Last year, the Delaware County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force informed Chester County Detectives of a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that indicated a child pornographic image was uploaded to the internet from a computer belonging to the defendant.
On December 14, 2021, the Pennsylvania State Police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home on Chesterville Road in Landenberg. Investigators seized a laptop and two cellphones, all of which were later found to contain hundreds of images of child pornography and child erotica.
Magisterial District Judge Matthew Seavey set the defendant’s bail at $100k; he was released after posting 10%. A preliminary hearing is set for January 21, 2022.
Chester County Detectives and the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating. ADA Christine Abatemarco is the assigned prosecutor.
The PA Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) provides personnel and funding for investigations related to the exploitation of children on the Internet. ICAC is funded through a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, based in Washington, D.C. In Chester County, the ICAC Task Force comprises investigators from CCD and local municipalities.
Call Childline at 1-800-932-0313 if you suspect a child is being abused.
Learn to recognize, react, report child sexual abuse by taking a free virtual Stewards of Children workshop. Contact County Coordinator Katie Walters at kwalters@chesco.org or 610-344-6115 for more information.
Information is subject to change at any time. A suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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