Irwin man pleads guilty to possession of child porn, sentenced to at least 4 years in prison

An Irwin man was ordered to serve at least 4 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

Joshua David Ward, 34, pleaded guilty this week to three felony counts in connection with allegations he distributed and possessed more than 100 images that depicted child sexual assaults, police said.

According to court records, the investigation was launched based a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Cyber Tip Line. An initial report was generated by an online messenger service that claimed it discovered 39 files depicting child sexual abuse had been uploaded or saved in July 2024.

State police served a subpoena to Comcast for the IP address associated with the files. In August 2024, they were provided with Ward’s address in Irwin, according to investigatory reports.

A search warrant was executed in February and multiple devices were seized from Ward’s home.

Forensic analysis uncovered additional files. Ward was charged in June.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears sentenced Ward to serve 4 to 10 years in prison and an additional one year of probation once he is released from custody.

His sentence is to run concurrent to another prison sentence imposed this summer.

Ward in August pleaded guilty to unrelated charges in connection to allegations he had improper sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl. In that case, police said Ward exchanged a lewd photograph with the teen and promoted prostitution.

He was ordered to serve 1 to 5 years in prison.