A 24-year-old Horsham man is in police custody after he, allegedly, raped a 10-month-old boy and produced child pornography of the attacks, which he then shared online, officials claim.
According to police, Brian Groo, 24, of Horsham, has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of rape of a child and charges relating to the creation and distribution of child pornography.
Officials said Thursday that Groo came to police attention on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, after officials in Montgomery County received a tip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children regarding two videos of apparent child sexual abuse material, including a video of the sexual abuse of an infant boy that had been uploaded and shared via the online messaging platform Kik.
The tip, police officials said, claimed the video of the boy seemed to be produced recently and may have been homemade, which made investigators concerned that the child may be subjected to ongoing or additional assaults.
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Investigators tracked the illicit content to the an individual using the username “Zenshadowsol” that shared the videos to other online accounts and then, they said, traced the postings back to Groo's address on Maple Avenue in Horsham Township.
Officials said that on Wednesday investigators serving a search warrant at Groo's home "recovered a hidden cellphone" that, they claim, belonged to Groo.
Police officials said this hidden phone had the Kik application installed and it was tied to the email address associated with the username that police claim was responsible for the uploads mentioned in the cybertip.
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Officials said they believe that the video that was shared online was of an infant boy that Groo had access to.
Groo is in police custody after being arraigned on Oct. 31, 2024. His bail has been set a more than $2 million.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 14, 2024.
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