Lower Burrell man accused of having 2.5K child sex abuse files
A Lower Burrell man is accused of possessing more than 2,500 files of child sexual abuse material, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.
State police charged Christian Nat Tominello, 29, on Thursday with 50 counts of disseminating child sexual abuse material, 100 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and criminal use of a communication facility.
According to the district attorney’s office, state police were notified of suspected child sexual abuse material on Snapchat depicting a girl between 8 and 12 years of age.
An IP address was assigned to the account and traced back to Tominello, the district attorney’s office said.
Several electronic devices were seized when a search warrant was executed at his Lower Burrell home. The files were found during a forensic examination of the devices, the district attorney’s office said.
Tominello did not have an attorney listed in court records.
District Judge Jason Buczak denied Tominello bail during an arraignment Thursday on the basis that, “No conditions other than imprisonment will reasonably assure the safety of the community,” court records state. He was being held at the Westmoreland County jail.
Tominello’s preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec is scheduled for July 29.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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