Spartansburg man waives hearing on child porn charges

Feb. 28—TITUSVILLE — A Spartansburg-area man will stand trial in Crawford County court on more than a dozen counts of alleged child pornography plus other charges filed by Pennsylvania State Police.

Cole D. Anthony, 24, of the 44000 block of Route 77, on Tuesday waived his right to a preliminary hearing on 15 felony counts of child pornography and two felony counts of failing to register two online internet counts that he has.

By waiving his right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Amy Nicols, Anthony automatically will stand trial in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas.

Police allege Anthony had 15 pictures of a nude girl under age 18 on his computer.

The pictures were discovered by Crawford County Adult Probation Department officers during a home visit to Anthony's Sparta Township residence on March 23, 2023, according to the arrest affidavit.

The affidavit said that during the visit officers also discovered Anthony was accessing the internet in violation of his probation supervision.

Anthony had not registered an online OnlyFans account and an online gaming gamertag with Pennsylvania as required on Anthony's Megan's Law account.

As of 2012, Pennsylvania law requires offenders who committed sexually violent offenses and are convicted to register for 15 years (Tier 1), 25 years (Tier 2) or life (Tier 3) based on their crime.

Anthony has a 2021 conviction from Erie County Court of Common Pleas for corruption of minors and indecent assault.

He was sentenced in January 2021 by Erie County to serve a total of seven years probation plus register with Pennsylvania as a sexual offender for 15 years, according to court records.

Anthony's probation supervision was transferred from Erie County to Crawford County, according to court records.

He remains free on $25,000 bond pending trial, which is scheduled for the June term of Crawford County criminal court.