Suspected Montco Child Predator Arrested For Second Time: DA

A Pennsylvania man has been charged with possessing child pornography for the second time in nine months following an investigation by the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section, they announced Thursday.

Joseph Sowers, of Apollo in Armstrong County, had originally been arrested on January 29 in Montgomery County.

This time, Sowers was apprehended after an undercover online investigation led to an IP address associated with Sowers’ smart phone. On Friday, agents with the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section and the Kiskiminetas Township Police Department executed a traffic stop on Sowers’ vehicle.

During the traffic stop, investigators seized multiple electronic devices and reported finding Sowers in possession of a smart phone that contained child pornography. The devices will be further analyzed by the Office of Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit as part of an ongoing investigation.

In the Montgomery County case, agents reported that a computer in Sowers’ possession was found to contain child pornography. The conditions of his bail stated that he was prohibited from accessing the Internet and viewing such images.

Sowers’ recent arrest resulted in the following charges: three counts of distribution of child pornography, 24 counts of possession of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

Sowers is being held in the Armstrong County Prison after failing to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 12.

Attorney General Kane thanked the Kiskiminetas Township Police Department for assisting with Sowers’ arrest. She also thanked investigators with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona. The office was responsible for initiating the arrest that led to Sowers being charged for a second time.

Sowers will be prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Jessel A. Costa III of the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section. He pleaded guilty to charges that stemmed from the January investigation and is awaiting sentencing in that case.