Pathak arrested on charges of child pornography

Feb. 9—A 25-year-old Reading man was arrested and charged with child pornography offenses.

Ian B. Petrie, of the 1400 block of Linden Street, is charged with 10 felony counts and one misdemeanor charge of producing, distributing and possessing child pornography, as well as indecent assault.

He was arraigned Thursday before District Judge Carissa Johnson and is being held in Berks County Prison in lieu of $750,000 cash bail.

According to Berks County detectives:

The case against Petrie is based on four separate tips received last year by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The case was initially investigated by Montgomery County authorities, but was later referred to Berks County detectives.

The tips involved digital files of child pornography that were shared online through social media platforms Instagram and Facebook. Several files contained videos of a child about five years old as well as the arms of an adult man with a distinctive tattoo on the back of his hand.

Social media accounts were determined to be linked to Petrie, who previously lived in Montgomery County.

Investigators were also able to identify the child depicted in the videos and discovered that Petrie had a relationship with the child’s mother. Detectives were also able to match Petrie’s tattoo to one visible in the video.

Petrie was taken into custody at his home on Thursday. His house was searched and several digital devices were seized.