Pennsylvania state senator resigns after arrest for child porn charges
A Pennsylvania state senator resigned on Wednesday after being arrested for alleged child porn possession. Mike Folmer, a four-term Republican, faces four felony charges.
After his arrest Tuesday night, Folmer faced immediate calls to step down, including from members of his own party.
"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday," Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, both Republicans, said in a joint statement Wednesday. They said they had spoken with Folmer and insisted on his resignation.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said the charges against Folmer are "disgusting and beyond comprehension, and show he has taken advantage of the trust and privilege afforded by the people of Pennsylvania."
Folmer, 63, represented Lebanon County and parts of Dauphin and York counties, in the southeastern part of the state. He has already been scrubbed from the state Senate's website, and his seat is listed as "vacant."
The investigation into Folmer started in February, after the social network Tumblr alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a user who uploaded an image of child pornography in December 2017, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Authorities traced the Tumblr account to Folmer's home in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Police executed a search warrant in Folmer's home Tuesday night. Folmer told authorities he "had been dealing with some personal problems/issues" and received child pornography through his Tumblr page, the complaint says.
He posted $25,000 bail Tuesday night.
Folmer is married and has two adult children and seven grandchildren, according to his Senate website. A woman at his former Senate office, when reached by CBS News, said the office no longer represents him.