Harrison man accused of sharing child porn online charged with 28 felony counts
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A Harrison man faces more than two dozen felony counts after state agents accused him of having child pornography videos on his cellphone, including some involving kids as young as 2.
Gregory Paul Rosato, 58, of the 1400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office with 27 counts of possession of child pornography along with a felony count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Rosato was released from custody after a Pittsburgh bail agency posted a $50,000 bond on his behalf, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Saldari Bengel on Wednesday, June 22.
Authorities began investigating Rosato on March 1 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent police information about his alleged online activities.
The center said the information it reported to authorities was provided by the Kik social media platform, according to a criminal complaint.
Agents said the report from Kik included a pair of video files containing suspected child pornography that were uploaded and shared along with information used to identify Rosato. One of the videos involves a girl between the ages of 10 and 12, and the other involves a girl between 7 and 9.
Kik gave investigators the internet protocol, or IP, address used to identify an internet account as well as the username “BretHuskey69” and an associated email address, according to the complaint.
A judged issued a subpoena ordering Comcast to provide investigators with information about the people associated with the IP address, which led them to Rosato, police said.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Rosato’s home, where they found his cellphone containing more than two dozen child porn videos after he provided them with the password for the device, according to the complaint.
Agents wrote in the complaint that Rosato agreed to speak to investigators and that his response when told they were executing a search warrant at his house was: “I am in trouble. It’s me.”
He allegedly told investigators “everything” they were looking for was on his phone.
Police said Rosato’s iPhone 13 Pro Max contained 25 child pornography videos, the complaint said.
Rosato told police he began viewing child pornography when he was in his 30s and that he previously pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, according to the complaint.
Court records show Rosato was sentenced to five years’ probation in May 2010 after pleading guilty to three felony counts of possession of child pornography filed by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.
Rosato told police he regularly viewed child porn while serving probation and now watches it every day, according to his arrest papers. He told police he knows viewing child pornography is wrong, but he is not able to stop.
Investigators provided a synopsis of five of the 25 videos on Rosato’s phone that showed children between the ages of 2 and 8 posing nude or engaging in sexual activity.