Altoona man claims he looked at child porn as 'research' for book he was writing

Altoona, PA (WJAC) — Authorities with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General say an Altoona man is facing dozens of felony counts of possessing child pornography following a months-long investigation.

According to the affidavit, the AG's office began its investigation in July after receiving a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Officials say the Cybertip was in relation to an image of suspected child pornography that reportedly depicted a female juvenile engaged in sexually explicit activity.

Upon further investigation, authorities say the viewing of the image was traced to an IP address located along Ivyside Drive in Altoona.

Authorities say the resident, 69-year-old Dennis Page, reportedly told agents that "he knew why they were at his home."

Officials say Page explained that he had reportedly viewed images of child porn as part of his "research" for a novel he was in the process of writing.

Authorities say Page further explained that he and a female friend had allegedly been molested when they were children and he claimed that he had viewed the images in an attempt to "try to see if he could see what he felt like (at the time that he was reportedly molested)."

"....if I can see the shame, if I can see the fear, the questions of why me?"

Investigators say Page admitted that he had "gone to websites that he probably shouldn't have" in order to view the images.

Authorities say Page also noted that "he was not sexually aroused" by the images that he viewed.

Investigators say despite Page's claim that he did not save any of the images on his computer, authorities noted that they found over 200 files of suspected child pornography on his laptops.

Authorities also added that they were unable to located any files related to the alleged novel that Page claimed he was writing.

According to online court records, Page was arraigned Friday on 51 counts of child pornography.

He is being housed at the Blair County Prison on $50,000 bail.

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