Wrightsville man arrested for child pornography

YORK, PA – A Wrightsville man is accused of sharing child pornography on messaging apps.

Police began investigating Brandon Dunlap (21) after receiving tips from Snapchat and Kik that he was sharing explicit images and videos of children.

Police received information from the social messaging platforms between October 31 and November 2, 2021, accusing Dunlap of sending suspected child pornography to others on the apps. After investigating this information, officers executed a search warrant at Dunlap’s residence in the 100 block of Sam Spur Lane.

There they seized two phones belonging to the suspect.

According to a criminal complaint, Dunlap wanted to talk to police without an attorney present. He allegedly told the officers that his phone had been hacked and the same had happened before. He claimed he hadn’t been on Kik in over a year and had created a new Snapchat account because of the hack.

Dunlap reportedly denied having or viewing child pornography and said there was nothing illegal on the two phones that were seized.

According to a probable cause affidavit, officers at the scene showed Dunlap some of the evidence they had collected from Kik and Snapchat and informed him that the video had been sent from his account. Upon seeing the evidence, Dunlap allegedly asked to speak to two of the officers in private.

Officers say that once in confidence, the suspect admitted that he recognized the images and that he deals in pornography on Omegle, but makes sure the other party is 18 years old. Dunlap allegedly told officers that he had received the link containing the evidence they showed him from another topic on Omegle and that he knew it was child pornography because of the way it was labeled.

According to a criminal complaint, Dunlap confided that he would take the link from Omegle and post it on Snapchat, where he would send it to whoever requested it. The suspect claimed that he did not see the pornography himself, but wanted to pass it on to others.

Dunlap reportedly claimed that he did not know this practice was illegal since he did not view the explicit material.

The suspect then admitted that there would likely be other images, videos and links to child pornography found on his phones, which he used to send pornography in the past, according to an affidavit. He also allegedly admitted to having seen some of the material himself.

Dunlap explained to officers that he had grown up in an environment he described as a sex and child pornography ring. According to the police, the suspect said that because of his upbringing and status as a child victim, he thought what he did was normal and not wrong.

According to a criminal complaint, Dunlap’s seized phones were processed and officers found no further evidence of child pornography.

Dunlap was arraigned on December 16 on two charges, including child pornography and child sexual abuse.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 26.

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