LOWER BURRELL, Pa. — A 63-year-old Lower Burrell man was arrested Monday after federal authorities notified local police about video footage depicting the sexual abuse of a toddler posted on the dark web.
Richard Reed was taken into custody after investigators used a distinct tattoo on his forearm to identify him.
The case began Monday when the FBI Child Exploitation Unit referred reliable information to the Lower Burrell Police Department regarding child sexual abuse material posted on a dark web site. The thread was posted under the username “timeout” and appeared to be filmed on a video-chatting application.
Detectives analyzed the video and observed that the male depicted had a distinct tattoo of what appeared to be a raven skull on his inner forearm. Through the use of an open-source image repository, investigators located similar individuals to both the male and the small child in the video, identifying the suspect as Reed.
Police executed a search warrant Monday at Reed’s home on Reed Street. Detectives said Reed answered the door with a tattoo on his inner forearm matching the exact one seen in the video, and officers promptly took him into custody.
Following his arrest, Reed allegedly made statements to investigators regarding his online activity. Reed claimed “he was having impotent issues and claimed he used the sites to talk to people or view images of underage girls.”
Reed faces charges of child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor, rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, corruption of minors and criminal use of a communication facility.
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