Working on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, state police troopers seized a Loyalhanna Township man’s cell phone and arrested him Monday on child pornography charges, according to court records.

John E. Zanandrea, 56, was arraigned on charges of criminal use of a communication facility, disseminating images of children involved in sex acts and possession of child pornography filed by the state police specialized Southwest Computer Crime Task Force in Indiana.

Trooper Marcus Lantzy reported in court documents that state police recently received a tip from the Alexandria, Va.-based center that a telephone number based in western Pennsylvania had been downloading “multiple files of child pornography.”

According to court documents, Lantzy went to Zanandrea’s residence on the 3300 block of Route 981, near Saltsburg, on Jan. 14 and Zanandrea admitted downloading pornography.

Lantzy reported Zanandrea’s cell phone was seized and a forensic analysis was performed on it at the state police computer laboratory in Indiana County. Lantzy said an analysis revealed that the cell phone contained downloaded images of a young boy engaged in a sex act with an adult woman.

Zanandrea was released Tuesday from the Westmoreland County Prison after posting $25,000 bond, according to court dockets. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Feb. 8.

Online court records indicate that Zanandrea has no prior criminal record in Pennsylvania.

Zanandrea could not be reached for comment and an attorney was not listed in court documents.

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