Salem man charged with child pornography

A Salem man was arrested Thursday on child pornography charges after agents from the state Attorney General’s Office said they examined his cell phone and computer.

Trent Edward Sullivan, 22, is free on $10 bond.

Investigators said, in March, they downloaded through a file-sharing program videos of child pornography from a specific IP address. They determined the IP address belonged to a home on East Pittsburgh Street just outside Delmont, according to court papers. Postal inspectors and drivers license records confirmed Sullivan lives there, police said.

Agents served a search warrant at the home Thursday. Authorities said in court papers they found more than 15 files of child pornography on a computer that belonged to Sullivan.

Investigators say Sullivan told them he had been looking at child pornography for the past year through a file-sharing smartphone application, according to court papers. Sullivan said he “came across it” while looking at other pornography and started searching for it on the app. A cell phone he had with him had files of child pornography on it, police said.

He also used a program on the computer to download the files and later move them to the recycle bin, only to reactivate and view them again, according to court papers. He is accused of distributing at least four of the files and is facing 25 charges, including criminal use of a communication facility.

Sullivan waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday at the same time as his arraignment. His attorney could not immediately be reached. Formal arraignment is set for July 28.