Man charged in child porn case

DONALD GILBERT

A former Hallstead man has agreed to face trial in Susquehanna County court on numerous child sexual assault and child pornography charges.
Last week, Donald D. Gilbert, formerly of Lower Rhiney Creek Road, conceded that prosecutors had enough evidence to bring him to trial.
After a September search of the Montrose home he had moved to, investigators reported they had discovered a large amount of child pornography on his cell phone, iPod and laptop computer. Other charges filed earlier this year allege that he had molested a young girl in Liberty Twp. Those charges were sent up to county court in May.
Gilbert is in custody on $25,000 bail.
Gilbert faces numerous charges of indecent assault, indecent exposure, corruption of a minor, possession of child pornography and criminal use of a computer.
Sitting in court last Wednesday on his 41st birthday dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and wearing shackles, Gilbert answered charges that he performed online searches for information on nudist colonies and then exchanged child pornography with others he met online.
According to police, Gilbert tried to get a minor girl in the Liberty Twp. home to participate in these sexual conversations online and to post sexually explicit photographs of herself online.
“He stated that he had an interest in nudist camps because he wanted to take child victim to one in order to ‘bond,’” said an affidavit filed by the state’s Attorney General’s office in connection with the case.
According to investigators, Gilbert also admitted to illegally videotaping the girl while she was undressing to take a shower and to touching her in private areas.
When asked by police if they could record him repeating those statements, Gilbert stated, “my attorney will get so pissed off if I do that.”
Jason Beardsley, the attorney who represented Gilbert at his preliminary hearing, declined comment.
The investigation by the attorney general’s Child Predator Office began in March as a result of an Internet tip that Gilbert had posted child pornography online. It culminated in a September 6 search of the Fernheim Road home he had moved to which disclosed child pornography on virtually each and every electronic device he had access to.
In May, after the filing of the indecent contact charges, a family member of the victim brought several electronic devices, including a Toshiba laptop, to state police at the Gibson barracks.
“He also related that the victim told him that the Toshiba laptop was non-functional because, she believed, from all the pornography that Gilbert downloaded on it,” court papers said.