In a case called "unspeakable" by a veteran law enforcement official, two men are charged with conspiring to trick a 15-year-old girl into sex by pretending one of them, a 25-year-old man, was a high school student, investigators with the Chester County District Attorney's Office said.
The two men allegedly sexually abused the girl and filmed their crimes, officials said.
A "trove" of thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography were seized from the home of one of the men, who ran a Chester County construction company, according to police.
"The scope and nature of these crimes are staggering." — Willistown Police Chief John Narcise
Lawrence Jamieson Jr., 57, of Malvern, Chester County, and John Brown, 25, of Norristown, Montgomery County, were arrested this month and charged with sex trafficking, possession of child pornography, sexual assault, conspiracy and related offenses, authorities said.
"Even after decades of serving in law enforcement, the scope and nature of these crimes are staggering," Willistown Police Chief John Narcise said in a statement on the arrests. "I have never seen as large a trove of child pornography in the history of Chester County, and the rest of the conduct is unspeakable. I do not know what kind of depraved mind could possibly enjoy this sickening abuse of innocent children."
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Court documents detail how the abuse — which began in March 2015 and continued through this past July — came to light.
According to court documents, the victim's mother came to police after finding text messages on her daughter's phone that suggested the girl had been having a sexual relationship with Brown and Jamieson. An investigation into the complaint found that the teen girl had been having an ongoing sexual relationship with Brown since Jamieson introduced the pair in February 2015, authorities alleged.
Jamieson, who owns the Jamieson Construction Company, had introduced Brown as a 17-year-old high school student who was studying at a "cyber school," according to court papers. At the time, Brown was 24 years old.
Police claim the men made up the story — Brown even apparently changed his appearance to appear younger — in order to trick the girl into a sexual relationship. For 17 months both men sexually abused the girl, routinely — often together — taking images and videos of the abuse, court documents alleged.
An Aug. 3 search of Jamieson's residence on Laurel Circle in Willistown Township in Malvern, produced 1,000 DVD, thumb drives and external memory devices containing 50,000 images and videos of child pornography, police said.
At least one image depicted a local teen girl, and is labeled with her name and the local high school she attends, according to law enforcement officials.
Both men are in custody after failing to post bail.
But law enforcement officials are concerned there may be other victims, according to Chester County District Attorney Thomas J. Hogan.
"Evil exists, even in places where we least expect it," Hogan said in a statement. "We are concerned there may be other victims out there. Anybody with either information about Lawrence Jamieson or John Brown should contact the Willistown Police Department immediately."
Hogan has asked anyone who might have information to contact Detective Steve Jones at 610-251-0222.