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State agents arrest Ford City man on child porn charges
Louis B. Ruediger | Trib Total Media
State Attorney General's Office agents (left and far right) and Ford City policeman Steven Cippel take Shawn Kunkle, 44, into custody on child pornography charges after a search of his Ford Street apartment in Ford City, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015.
A 44-year-old Ford City man was arrested on child pornography charges Thursday morning by agents from the state Attorney General's Office.
Shawn Eugene Kunkle was arrested after agents searched his apartment at 314 Ford St. on a warrant issued as part of an Internet investigation. He was picked up by agents while awaiting a session at the Family Counseling Center of Armstrong County in Kittanning.
“A handful of electronic devices were removed from his upstairs apartment,” said Deputy Attorney General Jessel Costa.
Passersby stopped to watch agents carrying items like a black laptop from the three-story tan brick building to a special investigation unit truck parked on Ford Street at around 11 a.m.
Kunkle was charged with 11 felonies. Seven are for photographing, videotaping, depicting on a computer or filming child sex acts; three are child pornography charges; and one is a charge of criminal use of a computer or cell phone while committing a felony.
His charges stem from downloading and sharing multiple videos and images of children being sexually abused or raped — some involving toddlers — using an Internet file sharing program, the criminal complaint alleges.
The Attorney General's Office traced Kunkle's online activity to two computers at his apartment, the complaint said.
Kunkle admitted he had “downloaded stuff,” but said the child pornography files were done accidentally, the complaint said.
He was arraigned before District Judge J. Gary Decomo Thursday afternoon and placed in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8.
Angela Harrison, 37, Kunkle's wife, was also arrested Thursday on an unrelated warrant for failing to appear at a court hearing for public drunkenness, said Sgt. John Atherton of the Ford City police.
Her two children, ages 7 and 4, were removed from the residence and placed under the care of Children and Youth Services, Costa said.
Brigid Beatty is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.
She can be reached at 724-543-1303 or bbeatty@tribweb.com.
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