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Towamencin man admits to possessing child porn, other unlawful acts

Towamencin man admits to possessing child porn, other unlawful acts

NORRISTOWN — A Towamencin Township man is awaiting his fate from a judge after he admitted to possessing child pornography and having unlawful communications on a social media app with an undercover detective posing as a 13-year-old girl.

Thomas Albert Bowes, 39, of the 700 block of Springhouse Court, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to felony charges of possessing child pornography and unlawful contact or communication with a minor in connection with incidents that occurred in October 2023.

Judge Thomas M. DelRicci deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Bowes, who will undergo a psychosexual evaluation.

Bowes also faces an evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board which will determine if Bowes should be classified as a sexually violent predator. Those classified as predators face more stringent restrictions while on parole or probation, including mandatory counseling.

Regardless the sentence that Bowes eventually receives, he faces a 25-year requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, previously known as Megan’s Law.

Bowes remains free on bail pending his sentencing hearing.

An investigation of Bowes began on Oct. 4, 2023, when he began communicating with undercover detectives posing as an underage girl in the 9th grade on the social media application Whisper, according to a criminal complaint.

The undercover detective posted “Save me from school” superimposed over a photograph to which Bowes replied, “Gladly, Mmmm my favorite age of girls,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Conshohocken Detective William Walter and Lower Merion Detective John Mick.

Bowes proceeded to engage in a sexually explicit conversation with the undercover detective posing as the child and sent the undercover detective a photograph of what he claimed was his penis, according to the arrest affidavit.

During the chats, Bowes showed an interest in meeting who he believed was the underage girl at a location in Lower Merion.

When the undercover detective asked Bowes for a personal photograph, Bowes allegedly sent a photograph, depicting a male and female, which he retrieved from the female’s Facebook/Instagram account. Neither the male nor the female depicted in the photo gave Bowes permission to use their photograph in the chats, detectives alleged.

Bowes also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of identity theft in connection with using the identity of others without consent to further an unlawful purpose.

Detectives showed up at Bowes’ residence with a search warrant on Nov. 16, 2023.

“Thomas Bowed did admit he was responsible for the conversation on Whisper with what he believed to be a thirteen-year-old female but his intention wasn’t to meet with her,” Walter and Mick alleged in the criminal complaint.

Bowes also admitted to sending the undercover detective a photo of his penis as well as the photo he lifted from Facebook/Instagram without the permission of the true owners.

“Bowes admitted that all the conversations and photographs were done on his cellular phone that he has,” Walter and Mick alleged.

When detectives reviewed the contents of Bowes’ cellphone they found seven videos and five photos of child sexual abuse material. Detectives alleged the videos and photos depicted girls between the ages of 5 and 13 engaged in sexual acts or poses.

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