HONESDALE, PA — Ethan L. Maines, 26, of Lake Township, PA. was arrested and charged with ten counts of Possession of Child Pornography in the 3rd degree and one count of Criminal Use of Communication Facility in the 3rd degree, both felonies.

Wayne County District Attorney A.G. Howell made the announcement on April 10. 

The criminal charges stem from an investigation by Wayne County detectives, who in September 2023 received a CyberTipLine report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The report indicated that someone had uploaded one video file containing suspected child pornography. Detectives examined the uploaded file in the CyberTipLine report and confirmed that the uploaded video file contained child pornography. A telephone number was associated with the report as well.

During the investigation, detectives determined that the suspect from the CyberTipLine report uploaded 293 files of child pornography. The telephone number associated with the report came back to Ethan Maines from Lake Township.

On April 10, members of the Wayne County Detectives, PA State Police Northeast Computer Crimes Task Force, and the PA Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at Maines’ residence. As a result of the search, electronic devices were seized and forensic examiners recovered evidence of approximately 180 files of child pornography on an external hard drive.

Maines was taken into custody at his place of employment by Wayne County Detective Michael McMorrow and Agent Kathleen Fallon with the PA Office of Attorney General. He was then brought before Magisterial District Judge Dunsinger for a preliminary arraignment.

Bail was set at $100,000 cash and Maines was remanded to the Wayne County Correctional Facility. His next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, April 17, at 9 a.m.

The filing of criminal charges is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the commonwealth against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the commonwealth has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant enters a guilty plea to the charges.