State police charge man after investigation into sexual abuse of children
The Pennsylvania State Police announced charges against a man after an investigation found multiple digital files containing child sexual abuse material.
An investigation took place in both 2024 and 2025; the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations looked into the online activity of Michael Charlton. The investigation mainly looked into information gathered from the Kik Messenger application.
What investigators found ultimately led to Charlton being a suspect in the investigation, and they obtained search warrants for his account and digital devices.
The warrants ended up finding multiple digital files containing child sexual abuse material that identified several underage girls, ranging in age. They also reported finding physical and digital evidence that showed Charlton's involvement in some of the files.
Now, Charlton is facing charges of photographs on a computer of sexual acts, sexual abuse of children, criminal use of a communication facility, and tampering with physical evidence.
State police have also said that the investigation remains active and more details will be released.