Georgetown man facing federal charges, 130 state charges related to child pornography
A Scott County man is facing federal criminal charges and dozens of state charges connected to child pornography, according to court records.
Phillip Christopher Abel, 35, was arrested last week on 100 state charges of possessing child pornography and 30 charges of using a child under 16 years old in a sexual performance, according to court records. On Tuesday, a criminal complaint was filed in federal court accusing him of producing, receiving and possessing child pornography.
A complex investigation by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office that started with an anonymous file-sharing site led investigators to Abel’s Georgetown home, where his phone, computer and hard drives were seized, according to a federal affidavit.
During an analysis of Abel’s devices, investigators found more than 2,000 explicit images of children stored on a hard drive, according to the affidavit. Explicit images were also found on his cell phone, including one of a child who was 4 years old, according to the complaint.
“The exploitation of children will not stand in Kentucky, and we are using every resource at our disposal to track down perpetrators and hold them accountable to the law,” Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a news release.
Each of Abel’s state charges of using a child under 16 years old in a sexual performance is a Class B felony, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The state charges of possessing child pornography are Class D felonies, which are punishable by up to five years in prison, according to state statutes.
Abel is being held in the Scott County Detention Center, according to the jail’s website.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 2:36 PM.
