Lancaster city man kept hundreds of child porn images; investigators ask for victims to step forward: police | Local News

A months-long investigation revealed that a Lancaster city man kept more than 300 indecent images of children on his home electronics, and city police are now asking for victims to come forward.

Emmanuel Worrell, 45, kept the images on a phone and laptop at his residence in the first block of North Prince Street since at least July 29, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Worrell was charged Feb. 3 with four counts of child pornography, two counts of criminal use of a communication facility and one count of disseminating photos of child sex acts.

Police are now asking for any unreported victims of Worrell from past incidents to reach out to detective Jess Higgins at 717-735-3319.

The images found on Worrell’s electronics included more than 100 videos and nearly 200 pictures of children who were nude or undressing or engaging in sexual acts, police said. The phone and laptop used to store the images were seized when police searched Worrell’s residence the morning of Jan. 28.

Worrell told investigators he routinely searched for, viewed, uploaded and shared the pornography for his sexual gratification, using several applications such as Discord for that purpose, police said.

Investigators began looking into Worrell after receiving information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that child pornography had been uploaded at his address.

The investigation into Worrell was “extremely intensive and involved the assistance of many additional detectives who tirelessly serve the residents of Lancaster as Special Investigations Unit detectives,” city police said in a news release Wednesday. “These men and women investigate and prosecute some of the most heinous offenses in the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. The victims of these crimes are often times among the most vulnerable persons in our community.”

An attorney was not listed for Worrell in court documents.

Judge Bruce Roth set Worrell’s bail at $200,000 during a preliminary arraignment Feb. 3, court records show. Worrell remains in Lancaster County Prison, unable to post that amount.

Worrell will face a preliminary hearing before Roth on Feb. 14.