CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) — A hearing was recently continued for a Rimersburg man caught with child pornography.
Court documents indicate a preliminary hearing for 71-year-old James Earl Arner* was continued on Tuesday, November 16, and is scheduled to resume at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 7.
Arner faces the following charges:
– Child Pornography, Felony 2 (13 counts)
– Contact/Communicate With Minor-Sexual Abuse, Felony 2
– Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3
– Corruption of Minors, Misdemeanor 1
– Indecent Assault Person Less 16 Years Age, Misdemeanor 2
He is currently free on $75,000.00 monetary bail.
The charges stem from an investigation into a report of suspected child abuse.
Details of the case:
According to a criminal complaint, on Friday, October 15, Clarion-based State Police received a report of suspected child abuse via an online referral. An interview was then conducted with the reported victim and the victim’s grandfather at their residence.
According to the complaint, when informed about the investigation into allegations against James Earl Arner, the victim’s grandfather indicated he had gone to school with Arner and they had remained friends. He told investigators Arner would often take the victim to doctor’s appointments and such when he needed because he worked. He also indicated he was aware of the allegations against Arner because his granddaughter had observed text messages between Arner and the victim.
The grandfather told police that Arner was not to be at the house while he was working, but he still came over when the victim was there and he was at work. He indicated that he thought Arner’s interaction with the victim was “odd,” because Arner would bring food over to the house only for the victim and also purchased an Apple iPhone 12 for the victim. He also provided the investigators with messages that were forwarded to his phone from the victim’s phone, according to the complaint.
The messages between Arner and the victim consisted of the victim asking Arner where to purchase “pods” (for a vape pen) because the last ones he got her were gone. In the messages, the victim promised to give Arner a “big big hug” for the pods and send him a “picture” if he got her pods. Arner reportedly replied he would like a “super big hug in private.”
On the cell phone were also several pictures the victim had sent to Arner while she was clothed, to which Arner reportedly responded that “swimsuit pictures would be better.” He also made reference in the text messages to prior pictures, saying he “has all her pictures already” and “wants a new one.” He reportedly told the victim he would give her one pod and she would get a second when she sends him “a good pic after you get a shower.”
The complaint notes the last text message sent by Arner also made mention that he has been “thinking” and “needs to find someone to go out to dinner with” and said “dropping things off with her was driving him nuts.” He reportedly stated in the text that “the other end of the test spectrum involves the bedroom” and said he “needed to stop living in a dream world.”
According to the complaint, the text messages were dated between August 29, 2021, and September 4, 2021, and police were informed additional text messages between the victim and Arner had been deleted from her cell phone.
Police then interviewed the victim, who reportedly indicated she and Arner had been texting for a while. She indicated the messages on her phone were “just some” of the messages between them and said she had deleted a lot of them. The victim also told police Arner had been bringing her food and pods for a vape pen. When questioned about if Arner had asked for anything in return, the victim told police Arner said he would “get her stuff” for “a hug or pictures.”
The victim told police Arner would come to the house while her grandfather was at work, and would drop off food and give her a “hug,” but would get nothing for her other siblings. When asked about the “hugs,” the victim told police that Arner would squeeze her tight and smack her butt, then just keep his hand there. She also told police that Arner purchased her an iPhone 12 and paid for her phone service.
Police then applied for and were granted a search warrant for Arner’s residence.
According to the complaint, when the warrant was served on Friday, October 15, numerous items including computers, laptops, phones, a digital camera, and computer software including CDs, hard drives, and removable storage units were removed from the residence and examined by the PSP Computer Crime Lab Unit.
The complaint indicates a forensic analysis of the seized items discovered a file within the hard drive of a laptop with the first name of the victim that contained 13 images of the victim in various stages of undress and nudity.
Arner was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey C. Miller at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 17.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: Police noted that the defendant, in this case, IS NOT Clarion County Senior Judge James G. Arner, nor is the defendant affiliated with the judge.
EDITOR’S NOTE 2: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the alleged crimes.
EDITOR’S NOTE 3: Several details were removed from this article to help protect the identity of the victim.
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