From staff reports

MILROY — A 54-year-old local man was jailed Thursday after law enforcement reportedly uncovered more than 200 images on his computer depicting child sexual abuse material.

Todd Dwaine Shirk, of Milroy, was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Kent Smith on 231 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, a third-degree felony; 11 counts of dissemination of child sexual abuse material, a second-degree felony; and 243 counts of creating obscene material, a first-degree misdemeanor.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crime Unit in Harrisburg began an undercover investigation in December 2023 into the internet sharing of child sexual abuse material on the BitTorrent file-sharing network.

During the investigation, police found a 3-minute, 33-second video showing a prepubescent girl, believed to be between 3 and 5 years old, being sexually assaulted.

Police said they were able to trace the material to Shirk through his computer’s IP address. Investigators identified 12 additional video files depicting the sexual abuse of children involving indecent contact.

A search warrant was issued April 10, 2024, for Shirk’s home at 503 S. Main St. Police said 51 items were seized during the search.

Investigators reported finding more than 200 image files depicting the sexual abuse of children, including prepubescent victims.

Shirk is being held in the Mifflin County Correctional Facility, unable to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 19.