NORTH CORNWALL TOWNSHIP, LEBANON COUNTY, Pa.–A former Lebanon man is facing criminal charges after authorities uncovered 71 images of child porn in his home following a fire in January.
Robert Groff, 53, is charged with 71 counts of child pornography. He was arraigned Friday and has since posted $50,000 bail.
Authorities began investigating Groff after fire broke out at his former home along the 100 block of South Second in North Cornwall Township on January 25. While battling the fire, firefighters observed what they perceived was child pornography in his home, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and seized multiple computer laptops, flash drives, CDs/DVDs, VHS tapes, floppy disks and pornographic photographs, according to court documents.
Groff later showed up at the North Cornwall Township police department to speak with investigators about the items they found in his house. When asked about the pictures that were found inside his house, Groff claimed they were not child porn but rather artistic “nudist” pictures, according to the criminal complaint. Authorities advised Groff that the children depicted in the pictures were of such a young age that there could be no mistake of age when looking at them.
A forensic analysis of the images found at Groff’s home revealed there were 71 pictures depicting child porn.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 22.
