Hyde Park man to serve probation for child pornography possession

A Hyde Park man was spared a prison sentence Tuesday, arguing that his personal domestic challenges led to depression that caused him to spiral into criminal behavior.

Joshua Glen Townsend, 34, was ordered to serve one year on house arrest as part of a three-year probation sentence. He pleaded guilty in May to two felony counts of possession of child pornography related to 30 images authorities said he downloaded to two devices.

According to court records, state police in 2022 received a notification from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a cloud storage provider called Synchronoss Technologies reported 30 files containing child pornography were uploaded to a Verizon cloud account that police later determined belonged to Townsend.

Townsend admitted to the allegations, police said.

Westmoreland County prosecutors recommended Townsend receive a two- to six-year prison sentence.

Townsend claimed his actions resulted from depression that he suffered after his wife left him, leaving him alone to care for their newborn child. The child has since been placed in foster care.

“I am haunted by my actions. I remind myself every night I caused this. I want to be a good member of the community for my friends and family and, more importantly, my son,” Townsend said.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said she imposed the mitigated probation sentence because it appeared Townsend was amenable to treatment and accepted responsibility for his actions.

The judge also ordered Townsend to have no contact with children and no unsupervised contact with his biological children.