Former Central Pennsylvania Youth Ministries assistant director charged with child pornography offenses
JUNIATA COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A former official with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ministries (CPYM) is facing federal charges that accuse him of producing and possessing child pornography.
Daniel Reed allegedly set up a hidden camera that took photos of teen girls showering in a bathroom at the CPYM facility in Juniata County, court documents filed Wednesday in the Middle District of Pennsylvania show.
The charges filed state Reed was an assistant director at the youth ministries and was fired in December after a woman came forward alleging she was “groomed” into a sexual relationship with him when she was a teenager.
When the investigation began in January, court documents show an official with CPYM reported to Pennsylvania State Police they found a “peep hole” in a second-floor hallway closet that looks into a bathroom.
The bathroom on the second floor is the only one that has a shower, and, according to court documents, Reed encouraged the bathroom to be built in 2023.
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Reed’s office was also right beside the utility closet and directly across from the bathroom, investigators noted in the court docs. It was also reported by an official that the utility closet was always locked, although they didn’t understand why, and that the key for it was in Reed’s office.
Charging docs reveal there was a 12 x 12 mirror on the bathroom wall that was facing the shower, and the closet was on the other side of the wall it was hanging on.
After going into the closet, investigators found the mirror was two-way and there was a small cutout on the backside of it. An outlet box that seems to have been able to power a small camera or recording device was also found in the closet.
Investigators said an official found a wall-mounted camera in an outlet in the bathroom about a year and a half ago and confronted Reed. He claimed he set it up in his office to see if people were going inside and that someone must have taken it, mistaking it for a phone charger.
When Reed was fired, he allegedly refused to let officials look through his computer and didn’t provide the password.
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During a search at Reed’s Juniata County home on Thursday, investigators seized numerous electronics. On one device, investigators say he had different pictures of nude girls along with images of other bathrooms and bedrooms, court docs reveal. Other pictures of child pornography were found on the electronics.
Reed allegedly also made searches for things like “can manufacturers view my footage when on wifi,” “hidden smoke detector camera,” “hidden camera sex convention, investigators say.
Reed faces charges of attempted production of child pornography, production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
The case is now headed to a Grand Jury that will determine whether to indict Reed on the charges.
Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI investigated the allegations.
A request for comment was left with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ministries Friday afternoon, but as of this writing, we have yet to hear back.
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