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NORRISTOWN — A Norristown man faces time behind bars and must report his address to police for more than two decades after he admitted to possessing child pornography on his electronic devices.
Francis Robert Bingham III, 23, of the 1400 block of Boyer Boulevard, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of possessing and distributing child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with incidents that occurred between August and November 2022.
Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Bingham to complete five years of probation consecutive to parole, meaning Bingham will be under court supervision for about seven years.
Bingham will be placed under sex offender supervision and he is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with minors. The judge said Bingham is to have no unsupervised internet access while serving the sentence.
Additionally, Bingham faces a 25-year requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, previously known as Megan’s Law.
The investigation began after agents with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General received information from a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Philadelphia Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force that a computer that was linked to Bingham was sharing files of interest in child pornography investigations, according to a criminal complaint.
Investigators were able to make a direct connection to the computer sharing the files and multiple downloads were conducted, according to court papers.
“These downloads consisted of child pornography, that is, videos of children under the age of eighteen engaged in prohibited sexual acts (as defined under state law),” Eric Barlow, a special agent with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section, wrote in the criminal complaint.
On Nov. 18, 2022, federal, state and local law enforcement officers went to Bingham’s residence with a search warrant and examined Bingham’s electronic devices. Agents found “at least 25 videos of child pornography as well as files indicative of child pornography” on Bingham’s laptop, according to the arrest affidavit.
At that time, Bingham agreed to speak with investigators, according to court documents.
“Bingham explained that he experienced his first sexual urges at the age of four. Bingham continued that, by the time he was in eighth grade, his sexual urges were very noticeable to both him and those around him,” Barlow alleged. “Bingham stated that he was attracted to both his peers and older girls.
“Bingham stated that as he matured his sexual interest remained the same. Bingham explained that he still finds children sexually attractive and that the attraction is completely physical. Bingham acknowledged that child pornography is illegal,” Barlow added.
Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Zachary Wynkoop handled the case. Defense lawyer William Moore represented Bingham during the court proceedings.
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