Pittsburgh Man accused of child porn, rape arrested in Virginia
A Pittsburgh man accused of setting up a hidden camera to record underage girls undressing in a gym restroom at The Armory Youth Center in Canonsburg was apprehended Thursday in Virginia.
According to Washington County Assistant District Attorney Jason Walsh, Anthony Lee Fletcher, 37, was arrested Thursday morning in Woodbridge, Va., after being charged in both Allegheny and Washington counties.
In Washington County, he’s charged with child pornography, illegal filming of children and invasion of privacy after police allegedly discovered recordings of child pornography taking place in the gym on devices that belong to Fletcher.
According to court records, police began investigating Fletcher in February following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. On May 7, state police in Pittsburgh filed child rape charges against Fletcher.
In the criminal complaint, police wrote that the tip they received involved a photograph of two nude girls between the ages of 3 and 8 being sexually abused by two adult men. Police tracked the IP address to Fletcher and served a warrant at his Pittsburgh home April 20.
Upon seizing his electronic devices, police discovered pictures and videos of Fletcher sexually assaulting a female “who appears to be fully unresponsive” and “in various stages of nudity,” the complaint said. Police interviewed the victim, now 20 years old, who was able to identify herself and Fletcher in the videos, court documents state.
In the Allegheny County case, Fletcher faces charges of unlawful contact with a minor, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, three counts of sexual abuse of children, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors and two counts of indecent assault.
Fletcher was arrested May 7 and posted $25,000 bond Tuesday. The Washington County charges were filed Wednesday, and by Thursday, Fletcher was apprehended in another state.
Walsh said Fletcher likely will have an extradition hearing in Virginia before he’s arraigned on the Washington County charges.