A Hellertown man was arrested on child pornography charges over the weekend after law enforcement authorities descended on a borough restaurant where he was employed.
According to a story published by Lehigh Valley Live, 66-year-old Oscar Rivera Velasco, of the 300 block of Laubach Street, was arrested Friday following an investigation prompted by a tip the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent to the state attorney general’s office.
Velasco allegedly uploaded videos containing child pornography to his Facebook account in August and September of last year while using the wifi at his place of employment, which at the time was Hellertown Crossroads Hotel on Main Street, the story indicated.
Reached Tuesday afternoon, Crossroads co-owner Amy Tulio said Velasco’s employment with Crossroads was terminated as soon as her family learned of the charges against him.
Velasco was employed under the previous owners of the business, and his employment continued after she and her business partners bought it several years ago, Tulio said.
Velasco had just returned from a month-long trip to his native Philippines when he was arrested, she added.
Court documents indicate that Velasco is charged with three Felony 3 counts of disseminating photography/filming of child sex acts, four Felony 3 counts of child pornography and one Felony 3 count of criminal use of a communication facility.
Following a preliminary arraignment on the charges before District Judge Alan Mege Friday, Velasco was committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $150,000 straight bail, the criminal court docket in his case states.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled to be held Tuesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. before Mege in District Court 03-2-04 in Lower Saucon Township, per court records.
An attorney for Velasco is not named in the records.
Note: Individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
