Police: Greensburg man fought with agents while they investigated his son for child porn
A Greensburg father and son were arrested Tuesday during a child pornography investigation by agents from the state Attorney General’s Office.
Joshua Walker Bittner, 20, is accused of contacting young girls through Instagram and requesting nude photographs of them. Authorities found at least 14 images of child pornography on a flash drive and a cellphone found in his bedroom, according to court papers.
His father, Mark Edward Bittner, 50, allegedly fought with agents searching his home, injuring three of them.
Both father and son are being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $50,000 bail.
Three girls, ages 10 and 11, reported to police that they were exchanging messages on Instagram with a person using the screen name “brettt77.” The girls said bretttt77 identified himself as a 12-year-old boy from Dubois who was home-schooled.
Police said bretttt77 asked the girls to send him nude photographs and other images depicting them performing a sex act, according to a criminal complaint.
During the search, agents reported finding numerous images of child pornography. According to the complaint, Joshua Bittner admitted to communicating with the girls as bretttt77 and told agents he has been “obsessed” with talking to young girls during the past year. Police said Bittner told them he has used other screen names to communicate with up to 10 girls.
Mark Bittner became angry when he arrived home to find agents there, according to the complaint. When an agent tried to search him for a weapon, Bittner allegedly began fighting with three of them on the front porch.
The four fell 5 feet onto a concrete sidewalk when a porch railing broke during the scuffle, police said.
Joshua Bittner is charged with child pornography and related offenses. Mark Bittner is charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
Preliminary hearings for both men are set for Feb. 7. Neither had an attorney listed in online court records.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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