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Michael E. Torocco, of Wyomissing, surrendered to detectives on Wednesday, Aug. 21, according to Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams.
A search warrant found more than 200 images of child pornography in Torocco's DropBox account, Adams said.
As a herpetologist, Torocco is considered a specialist in bog turtles, according to this website.
Also an expert in the ecology of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Torocco has assisted in original research on the timber rattlesnake, pine snake, corn snake, and Pine Barrens treefrog, the website says.
The Berks County Detective’s Office initiated a criminal investigation after receiving a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving digital files of suspected Child Pornography that were being uploaded and shared utilizing a cloud storage service called “DropBox’.
Members of the Berks County Detectives executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence located in Spring Township. Numerous electronic devices were seized during this search.
As a result of a forensic analysis conducted on the defendant’s electronic devices by the Berks County District Attorney’s Forensic Services Unit, digital files of suspected child pornography were located on a hard drive seized from the Torocco's residence, Adams said.
Torocco was charged on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Torocco was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Ann L. Young and released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
He is due to appear at a preliminary hearing on Sept. 10, according to court records.
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