Oxford man arrested for child pornography
06/15/2016 01:04PM ● By J. ChamblessOn June 13, Attorney General Kathleen
G. Kane's office announced the arrest of two Pennsylvania men who are
charged with distributing and possessing child pornography. The
defendants are Randi Darwin Vassar, 43, of Oxford; and Axl Rafael
Penaloza Ovalles of Downingtown.
“Online exploitation of children is a foul problem confronting law enforcement in our state and our nation,” Attorney General Kane said. “In Pennsylvania, we have aggressively gone after those who sexually exploit children and asked our judges with success to impose severe punishment.”
These latest arrests were made recently following separate investigations in Chester County by the Office of Attorney General's Child Predator Section.
The arrest of Vassar began with agents discovering suspected child pornography distributed through a file sharing service. The investigation led agents from the Attorney General's Child Predator Section and troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police to execute a search warrant at Vassar's residence.
A preliminary review of Vassar's computers revealed numerous videos of apparent child pornography.
Vassar was placed under arrest and is charged with five counts of distribution of child pornography, 62 counts of possession of child pornography, and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
He was released from the Chester County Prison after a bondsman posted a $100,000 surety bond on his behalf. A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for June 21.
Vassar will be prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Elo of the Office of Attorney General's Child Predator Section.
Ovalles was arrested following an online investigation into the dissemination of child pornography. Agents identified a computer on a peer-to-peer network sharing media files containing sexually graphic images of children. The IP address led agents from the Office of Attorney General's Child Predator Section and the Downingtown Police Department to an address associated with Ovalles. Upon executing a search warrant, agents with the Attorney General's Computer Forensics Unit previewed several electronic devices and located numerous videos containing child pornography.
Penaloza Ovalles is charged with five counts of distribution of child pornography, 20 counts of possession of child pornography, and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
He was released from custody on $250,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 20.
The case will be prosecuted by Deputy Attorney Rebecca Elo of the Office of Attorney General's Child Predator Section.