Bucks Co. Man Convicted of Sharing Child Pornography

An upper Bucks man has been sentenced to 11 to 24 years in state prison for sharing child pornography, the Bucks County District Attorney’s office announced on Crimewatch Friday.

Charles William Guthier, 56, of Quakertown, pleaded guilty in September to disseminating child sexual abuse material, possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility. A convicted sex offender prior to his latest conviction, Guthier will have to register with Megan’s Law as a Tier III offender for the rest of his life, the DA’s office said.

According to authorities, the investigation that led to Guthier’s arrest began in October 2023, when a Warrington Township Police sergeant identified a host computer using peer-to-peer file sharing software. The sergeant was able to identify 71 child pornography files being shared by the computer, which police said had an IP address that was confirmed to belong to Guthier.

A search warrant was then executed at Guthier’s home, where electronic and storage devices were seized. The FBI’s Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory analyzed the seized items and found nearly 2,500 files depicting child sexual abuse material which included the 71 previously identified files, the DA’s office said.

In March 2024, an arrest warrant for Guthier was issued. The DA’s office said he was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in South Padre Island, Texas, not far from the U.S.-Mexico border, before being extradited back to Pennsylvania.