City police arrested a homeless teenager Wednesday for possessing over 100 images of pornography involving young boys and men on his cell phone, according to the Cortland Police Department.
Noah B. Thompson, 18, was arrested at 2:45 a.m. after an acquaintance discovered the child pornography on his phone, said Lt. Michael Strangeway.
Thompson allowed the acquaintance to borrow the phone, Strangeway said.
“During the time that person had his phone,” he said, “they noticed numerous images and videos of prepubescent boys engaged in sexual contact with adult men.”
The acquaintance notified police and brought the phone to the police station at 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, shortly after discovering the images, Strangeway said.
Police obtained a search warrant and searched the phone, uncovering the images, he said.
“The suspect was invited in for an interview,” Strangeway said. “Following the interview the suspect was arrested and charged.”
The sexual abuse images on Thompson’s phone do not appear to have been created by Thompson, he said. The children and men depicted in the images and videos are not known to the department, Strangeway said.
“The photographs and videos we saw are similar in nature to those we frequently see that are downloaded off any number of websites,” he said.
Thompson was charged with possession of a sexual performance by a child and
possession of an obscene sexual performance by a child, both felonies.
After arraignment, Thompson was released in accordance with the bail reform laws enacted Jan. 1. He is scheduled to reappear at 1 p.m. on March 11.
While girls are far more likely to be depicted in child pornography, when boys are filmed, they are more likely to be prepubescent, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Since 2018, the center has received 42.9 million tips regarding child pornography, reviewed over 267 million images and videos and helped law enforcement identify 15,800 children.
To report incidents of child pornography to the center, go to report.cybertip.org.
