Child porn found on phone of Pennsylvania state Sen. Mike Folmer: prosecutor

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
3,320
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!!Wow!! So much those darn Republican Family Values!!!!


YORK, Pa. – A Pennsylvania state senator has been charged with possession of child pornography, according to the state attorney general’s office.

Republican state Sen. Mike Folmer, 63, represents parts of Lebanon, Dauphin and York counties.

According to a release from Attorney General Josh Shapiro's office, Folmer was arrested Tuesday night after images of child pornography were found on his phone when police searched his home after obtaining a warrant.

The investigation began after a tip reported that an individual had uploaded an image of child pornography to the social networking website Tumblr.

Folmer was charged with sexual abuse of children, possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility, Shapiro said in the release.

“I will continue to say it – no one is above the law, no matter what position of power they hold,” Shapiro said. “I will continue to work to protect children and hold those who abuse them accountable.”

Folmer has yet to release a statement on the charges.

Bail was set at $25,000, but it was not immediately clear if Folmer had posted it, the attorney general’s office said.

A native of Lebanon, Folmer was first elected to the Pennsylvania senate in 2006 and was re-elected to his fourth term in November.
Contributing: The Associated Press
 

FerrelGeek

Diamond Member
Jan 22, 2009
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Let the law take its course. Looks like the prosecutor will be prosecuted. If he's found guilty, put him in genpop.
 

Commodus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2004
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The disturbing thing is that he's described as a Sunday School teacher. This might've been why...
 

Sunburn74

Diamond Member
Oct 5, 2009
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It's funny. There is a CNN article on this which doesn't state his party affiliation but as soon as I saw the headline I immediately thought "republican for sure".
 
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Feb 4, 2009
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While I know little of what happened going to be interesting to see his browser history.
CNN article when I read it said there was one occasion from Imgur I wonder if it’s possible someone else had his phone and did it. Again I know nothing of the case and I’d like to think a prosecutor would be more through than jumping on a charge.
Again what is on the device and what he’s been browsing and what the image was will be key.
I don’t need to see the image, I’ll trust a professional.
 

DrunkenSano

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2008
3,892
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While I know little of what happened going to be interesting to see his browser history.
CNN article when I read it said there was one occasion from Imgur I wonder if it’s possible someone else had his phone and did it. Again I know nothing of the case and I’d like to think a prosecutor would be more through than jumping on a charge.
Again what is on the device and what he’s been browsing and what the image was will be key.
I don’t need to see the image, I’ll trust a professional.

Don't forget that they used this evidence to obtain a warrant to search his home. They will be spending quite some time scouring his hard drives. If it was just on his phone, then it will be harder to prove him guilty but usually for these perverts, the phone is just the tip of the iceburg.
 
Nov 8, 2012
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$25,000 bail, looks like the special treatment is already underway

Not really... Bail is kinda based on 2 main factors:
1) How likely will this person show up to court? (I would say incredibly likely)
2) How dangerous is this person if they are released back to the public? (obviously this is a question more asked with dangerous gun/violent crimes)

In regards to #2 - if these are CP images that he himself took... Yeah, keep the sick fuck in jail and out of his Sunday school bullshit. If he google'd for the images or found them through shit parts of the web, etc... ehhhhh, not a big deal for bail IMO.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,137
12,456
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And he's gone...


Pennsylvania state senator resigns after being arrested on child porn charges

Pennsylvania state Sen. Michael Folmer (R) reportedly resigned a day after he was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography.
"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday. We have reviewed the criminal complaint and spoke with Mike Folmer early this morning to insist on his resignation from the Senate," Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R) and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R) wrote in a joint statement.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), who had called for Folmer’s resignation, said his stepping down was "the right decision," spokesman J.J. Abbott said in a statement.

Not sure about PA laws...I presume the governor gets to pick his replacement? Is he required to pick a member of the same party as the former senator?
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,971
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"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday."

Disturbed by the charges? I mean, I know what we are talking about here .. but due process? Or lets just hang the fucker?
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,137
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"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday."

Disturbed by the charges? I mean, I know what we are talking about here .. but due process? Or lets just hang the fucker?

Nah, they're just sickened by the charges brought against him...not the acts he's accused of committing.
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
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Not really... Bail is kinda based on 2 main factors:
1) How likely will this person show up to court? (I would say incredibly likely)
2) How dangerous is this person if they are released back to the public? (obviously this is a question more asked with dangerous gun/violent crimes)

In regards to #2 - if these are CP images that he himself took... Yeah, keep the sick fuck in jail and out of his Sunday school bullshit. If he google'd for the images or found them through shit parts of the web, etc... ehhhhh, not a big deal for bail IMO.

I agree. Honestly we should be asking ourselves why bail in general isn’t lower, not his isn’t higher.
 

FerrelGeek

Diamond Member
Jan 22, 2009
4,669
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don't cha mean senator?

D'oh! Sorry about that. I was insufficiently caffeinated when I posted that. Think my brain got crossed from something else I'd read yesterday morning. Thanks for the correction. The rest of my posts still reflects my thoughts.
 

Mandres

Senior member
Jun 8, 2011
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It's interesting that the charges include sexual abuse of a child, not just possession of pornography. It sounds like he might be a real monster and I hope he's prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
 

blackangst1

Lifer
Feb 23, 2005
22,902
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"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday."

Disturbed by the charges? I mean, I know what we are talking about here .. but due process? Or lets just hang the fucker?

When it comes to CP or allegations of rape, there is no due process. Hang the fucker.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
14,114
136
It's interesting that the charges include sexual abuse of a child, not just possession of pornography. It sounds like he might be a real monster and I hope he's prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The Pennsylvania statute he is charged under is the child porn statute but it's titled "sexual abuse of children."


The article saying he got charged with both I suspect is inaccurate as they are the same thing.
 

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
8,184
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It's funny. There is a CNN article on this which doesn't state his party affiliation but as soon as I saw the headline I immediately thought "republican for sure".



I was about to post the same thing. Every time I see a headline about this kind of stuff I always assume it’s a republican.
 

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,348
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Don't forget that they used this evidence to obtain a warrant to search his home. They will be spending quite some time scouring his hard drives. If it was just on his phone, then it will be harder to prove him guilty but usually for these perverts, the phone is just the tip of the iceburg.
This is what makes me wonder if this was a setup, pending further information. While I don't research it or anything, I've never heard of one of these sickos having only 3 pics. It's usually some astronomical number. I suppose he could've gotten paranoid and tried to delete them all but missed a couple but this is not typical. Usually these sickos can't stop and will return to the same activities.

Again I wait for further info. Maybe he deleted pics in a mad rush with police knocking on the front door to serve the warrant, but then they may be recoverable from his drive if not overwritten.

Even so, it's fishy that a senator wouldn't have looked into stealth and security. Anyone with half a brain and something to lose should've been motivated enough to figure out how to get a VPN and burner phone for illicit activity, though again more info might help. Maybe he did have a burner but they triangulated its location to his home.

I was about to post the same thing. Every time I see a headline about this kind of stuff I always assume it’s a republican.

Because it's so easy to forget Democrats Ed Murray, Anthony Weiner, Jacob Schwartz, Robert Menendez, Jeffrey Epstein, (et al.)? These weren't even in the news that long ago. You must have a highly selective attention span. Unfortunately pedos are in all political parties and walks of life.
 

blackangst1

Lifer
Feb 23, 2005
22,902
2,359
126
The Pennsylvania statute he is charged under is the child porn statute but it's titled "sexual abuse of children."


The article saying he got charged with both I suspect is inaccurate as they are the same thing.

Sexual abuse of a child and possession of CP are not the same thing.
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,221
4,452
136
This is what makes me wonder if this was a setup, pending further information. While I don't research it or anything, I've never heard of one of these sickos having only 3 pics.

It is always possible that he got caught before he managed to collect much. Based on the charges it sounds like he possibly took the pictures. As always it is worth holding off judgment until we know more.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,137
12,456
136
Sexual abuse of a child and possession of CP are not the same thing.

I believe the thought process is that since child porn involves the sexual abuse of children, possessing child porn makes that person guilty of child abuse.