A Centre County man on lifetime parole for a 2018 child pornography offense in New Jersey was charged on Tuesday after state police at Rockview said he viewed “copious” amounts of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse.
Roy A. Waite, 65, of Pleasant Gap, also used a specific browser and search engine on his phone in an attempt to conceal what he viewed, police wrote.
A search of Waite’s phone found he had searched for and viewed numerous websites containing “vile and hardcore child pornography,” some using terms related to crimes such as “torture,” “kidnap,” and “abuse,” according to the affidavit. One website bookmarked by Waite had “a near uncountable number of files,” a state trooper wrote.
The investigation began in September when Waite’s state parole officer found he had two phones and when questioned about it did not produce a plausible reason why, according to the affidavit. The officer was permitted to search Waite’s property as a condition of his parole, and after opening a web browser on one of his phones almost immediately found bookmarks and searches for child pornography websites, police wrote.
After being taken into custody by state troopers, Waite said he did not have a desire to abuse children, but admitted to viewing child pornography three to four times a week and that he “simply is hooked on child nudity,” police wrote. He at times gave conflicting statements, according to the affidavit, first saying he had not viewed such material in years, then that he looked at videos of children but navigated out of anything depicting sexual abuse, and that he found it repulsive but that he did view “some of that stuff.”
Waite is charged with three felony counts of sexual abuse of children – child sexual abuse material.
He is currently incarcerated at Forest state prison in Forest County. A preliminary arraignment in Centre County is scheduled for Nov. 20.
