2 North Huntingdon men charged with child pornography

Two North Huntingdon men were arrested Wednesday in separate, unrelated child pornography investigations conducted by state police and the state attorney general’s office.

In both instances, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off investigators, according to court papers.

The first tip came in July 2022 after Microsoft Bing reported an image of child pornography was uploaded/distributed. Troopers said they tracked down Robert O’Brien, 84, through the IP address associated with the image. During a search of his home, police confiscated multiple devices. They reported finding child pornography on a laptop, according to court papers.

O’Brien is facing 10 counts of child pornography and a single count of criminal use of a communication facility. He is free on $100,000 unsecured bail.

In the second arrest, agents with the attorney generals office reported receiving numerous tips related to the same telephone number and email address between February and December 2023. Authorities were led to a home on Five Pines Road and they searched it Wednesday, according to court papers.

James F. Molzer, 31, told investigators that he exchanges child pornography with others in an effort to exploit them for having it, something he reported doing since college with a group of friends, according to court papers. Police said they found files of child pornography on Molzer’s cell phone.

He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $50,000 bail on 25 counts of child pornography and a single charge of criminal use of a communication facility. His attorneys could not immediately be reached. Preliminary hearings for both suspects are set for Feb. 2.