State Senator Resigns Amid Child Pornography Charge

Tuesday September 17th, the Pennsylvania state Attorney General, Josh Shapiro announced charges against four term State Senator Mike Folmer, 63, for possessing child pornography.  He was arrested and charged last night.  His bail was set at $25,000.

“This defendant serves as a state Senator and was entrusted to honor and represent his community in the Pennsylvania Capitol,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “Tonight, our Office arrested Mr. Folmer for possession of child pornography and charged him with Sexual Abuse of Children, Possession of Child Pornography, and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility. I will continue to say it—no one is above the law, no matter what position of power they hold."

Wednesday afternoon, the state senate confirmed that Mike Folmer had resigned.

"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday," said the statement from Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman. "We have reviewed the criminal complaint and spoke with Mike Folmer early this morning to insist on his resignation from the Senate. We are in receipt of his letter of resignation and the 48th Senatorial District seat is now vacant."

In February, a tip came into the the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from Tumblr concerning an image that had been uploaded to it's social media platform in December of 2017, according to court documents.  In an investigation started in early March, investigators then traced the Tumblr account to Fulmer's e-mail address, and then to his residence.

When the search warrant was executed yesterday, Folmer was contacted at his Lebanon office and agreed to return home and surrender his cell phone for search.  He was then read his Miranda rights and allegedly agreed to speak with agents without the presence of an attorney.

According to a statement included in court documents by an agent of the Attorney General's office, "Michael Folmer stated that he had been dealing with some personal problems/issues and that he had received child pornography through his Tumblr blog."  During a forensics search of his phone, “two images discovered depicted indecent contact with a minor,” the complaint states.