CONTENT WARNING: This story contains graphic and sexual language concerning children.
A Philadelphia man and private school teacher was ordered detained pending trial on child pornography charges Tuesday.
Andrew Wolf, 41, stands accused of multiple child-pornography-related offenses that stem from the defendant allegedly purchasing several sexually explicit videos of a 13-year-old boy in exchange for a $100 PlayStation gift card in July of this year.
“As alleged in the Criminal Complaint, the defendant communicated with a child for the purpose of sexually exploiting the child’s naiveté – an abhorrent crime made even worse because of the defendant’s position as a teacher,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in a press release.
In the complaint, authorities say they were tipped off the defendant’s alleged behavior by a tip from Dropbox about “one file depicting suspected child pornography to the user’s account.” The FBI reviewed that video and determined it was, in fact, child pornography.
“The video is approximately 7 minutes and 12 seconds in length and depicts two boys, approximately 10 to 14 years of age, naked on a bed, masturbating each other and then penetrating each other anally with their fingers and penises,” the court document notes.
In addition to the video described above (which had been deleted by the time the FBI obtained a search warrant for Wolf’s full account), federal agents also allegedly found three additional files “depicting sexually explicit images or videos of unidentified apparent minors.”
Each of the other deleted videos depicts minor boys “approximately 10 to 14 years old,” either naked or wearing underwear and with their genitals visible or masturbating, according to the complaint.
The initial charging document contains a detailed and lurid description of Wolf’s alleged interactions with the 13-year-old boy. Due to the extremely graphic nature of those conversations, they are not being reprinted in full herein.
A proposed sentencing order contains a brief summary:
The evidence in this case is strong. In July of 2021, the defendant used Instagram to contact a 13-year-old boy and buy self-produced images of child pornography from the boy. The defendant paid the boy with a $100 PlayStation card, in exchange for receiving at least six sexually explicit images of the child. These included videos of the naked child masturbating, dancing, and displaying his butt to the camera, along with a close-up video of the child masturbating and ejaculating. When the child informed the defendant that he was 13 years old, the defendant responded, “How long have u been able to cum… Like how many months since ur first time.” When the child answered that it had been about three months, the defendant said, “Cool,” told the victim, “Dude u are so hot,” and asked the child, “When did u get fucked and did u like it?”
A U.S. magistrate judge ruled on that motion in court today and ordered Wolf to be held while awaiting trial.
“Any adult who manipulates a child into providing explicit images of themselves, as alleged here, needs to answer for it,” Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division Bradley S. Benavides said in a press release. “It’s especially pressing when the adult in question works with kids every day.”
If convicted as charged, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison.
The full complaint can be read below:
[image via screengrab/WPVI]
