HARRISBURG, PA — A Monroe County man has been charged with more than 1,000 felonies after investigators allegedly found a large collection of child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, agents executed a search warrant at the Tobyhanna home of Marc Villanti, 54, where they reportedly discovered at least 1,000 files depicting the sexual abuse of children. Investigators also allege that Villanti shared at least 70 of those files using a peer-to-peer file-sharing platform.
During the search, agents said they found a videotape showing Villanti following teenage girls as they entered vehicles. Officials described the evidence as “disturbing” and noted that many of the images depicted children of preschool age.
“The volume of obscene materials found in this case are disturbing and cause great alarm as this is clearly someone with a fixation on very young children,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Our Child Predator Section has covered the entire Commonwealth with proactive investigations that remove predators from the internet and communities.”
Villanti was arraigned and released on $100,000 cash bail, with conditions prohibiting internet access and contact with minors. He was also required to surrender his passport.
The case originated from a tip received by the Attorney General’s Office, which led agents to identify Villanti through his online activity. The prosecution will be led by Deputy Attorney General Mary Phillips.
All charges are allegations, and Villanti is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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