North Huntingdon man accused of creating, uploading child porn

A North Huntingdon man accused by state police of creating child pornography and putting it online was arrested Thursday and jailed without bail.

James C. Gockel, 39, is charged with numerous counts of child pornography and related offenses.

Troopers said they were notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in February that several videos were uploaded to YouTube between April 2020 and January 2022, according to court papers. Investigators were led to Gockel through search warrants, and he admitted to making sexual videos with a girl, police said.

Multiple devices were seized from his home.

“We were able to retrieve tons of electronic equipment and tons of electronic files,” Trooper Steve Limani said.

One pornographic video was filmed around 2013 when the girl in it was about 10 years old, Limani said. Gockel uploaded it more recently, authorities said.

“It’s a shame that it took this long for it to surface,” Limani said.

Police were looking through other videos on devices seized from the suspect. Limani said the majority are “unusual because they were of young people’s feet. They did not have any other what we consider criminal actions” that would warrant additional charges. Many were recorded in public places, he said.

Authorities located the girl in the pornographic video. Anyone else who thinks they or their child was involved in a video can call local authorities or state police at 724-832-3288.

Gockel was arraigned Thursday and was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison after he was deemed a danger to the community, according to online court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 11. His attorney was not available.