Church Volunteer Arrested On Child Pornography Charges
IRWIN (KDKA) -- A local church volunteer, who had contact with children, is facing child pornography charges.
Andrew Patterson, 45, who's married and has a teenager daughter, was arrested Thursday and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography and sexual abuse of children.
Patterson, described by friends as a computer genius, allegedly shared photos of children in sexually explicit situations with others on the Internet. One of the images investigators say they retrieved from his computer showed an adult male with a baby girl.
Patterson recently started doing volunteer work with youth groups at a non-denominational church in Irwin, Westmoreland County.
Rev. Roy Tryon, of the Living Waters Family Worship Center, told KDKA's Ralph Iannotti that he was stunned when Patterson called him and left a message on his cell phone saying, "I resign. I expect to be arrested soon; I'm a horrible person."
At that time of the day, Tryon did not know what had happened, only later, did he start getting calls from the news media informing him of Patterson's arrest.
"I was totally shocked and surprised, because I didn't have a clue as to why this was coming about, and why his remorse," Tryon said.
Tryon said he was confident that Patterson, acting with church young people, was never alone with any children. He said there were always other adults present in the room with Patterson.
Even so, the Allegheny County District Attorney says because of Patterson's behavior, someone at the church may have concerns about his actions, and if that's the case, they should contact their office.
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