Former state representative Jesse White charged with possessing child pornography
Disgraced former state representative Jesse White was arrested Tuesday by federal agents at his home in Cumberland County for allegedly possessing and producing child pornography.
White, a Democrat who served four terms representing the 46th House District that includes parts of Washington and Allegheny counties until losing re-election in 2014, is now facing federal charges of receipt and distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
According to federal court documents, FBI agents received a tip Monday that a nude photo from January 2019 showing a young child was found on an electronic device belonging to White. A second image tied to White’s account showed a child in a compromising pose in August 2021, according to court documents.
Both images were flagged by Google and sent through a tip line administered by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which forwarded the information to the FBI.
FBI agents raided White’s home near Mechanicsburg on Tuesday and seized two laptop computers and multiple external hard drives, which investigators said had numerous files of child pornography downloaded showing children ranging from ages 7 to 15. Some of the files were “organized by categories of child pornography depicted” in the images, according to investigators.
Investigators also said White was using ProtonMail and Telegram accounts, along with other peer-to-peer profiles to share and receive child pornography.
“I know from my training and experience that individuals engaged in child exploitation use ProtonMail to communicate securely and anonymously with other individuals interested in or engaged in child exploitation activities,” the lead FBI investigator wrote in court documents.
When interrogated by federal agents, White allegedly said he had “inappropriate content” on his devices, court documents alleged. When pressed further, White allegedly acknowledged that the “inappropriate content” was child pornography, investigators said.
A Department of Justice spokeswoman confirmed that the suspect is the former state representative from Western Pennsylvania, but declined further comment on the case. White, 48, is scheduled to appear before a federal judge for a detention hearing Wednesday afternoon. His federal public defender, Meredith Gallen, did not return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday.
White was an attorney and former Cecil Township supervisor running as a Democrat when he first won his seat to the 46th State House District in 2006 on the wave of a reform movement following the midnight pay raise by the state Legislature the previous year.
He often sparred with the growing Marcellus Shale natural gas industry that was centered in the district that includes northern Washington County and western Allegheny County. In May 2013, he was caught using fake internet accounts to attack constituents and fellow lawmakers in the comments sections of online stories involving the natural gas industry, which he regularly criticized. The following year, he lost re-election to office to Republican state Rep. Jason Ortitay.
In 2015, he ran and lost the race for magistrate in the Cecil area district where he lived, and then ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary the next year trying to win back his old state House seat.
His law license was suspended in 2017 and he was disbarred later that year after being accused of theft of services by clients. In 2018, he was criminally charged with theft of services and deceptive business practices, although the case was later withdrawn after he underwent a mental health evaluation and treatment, along with treatment for addiction to gambling.
Shortly after the charges were withdrawn, White moved from his home in Cecil Township to Cumberland County near Harrisburg, where he had been working as a self-employed political consultant.