Washington County school bus driver accused of possessing and creating child porn
WASHINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — A Washington County man is accused of having more than 500 files of child pornography on devices seized from his home by police.
Dennis Shrader, 56, is behind bars, accused of not only possessing child pornography but creating it. According to the criminal complaint, police followed up on a tip in 2021 from a software company that an image of child pornography was transferred to its cloud-based account from a phone number used by the North Bethlehem Township man.
Additional tips from July and August of this year found more images and videos. The seized materials depict the sexual abuse of toddlers and juveniles. Shrader allegedly told police that he had filmed the material himself.
KDKA-TV learned that Shrader is employed as a substitute bus driver with the Bentworth School District. KDKA-TV stopped at the district office on Friday and was told the superintendent wasn't in but would be releasing a statement in near future.
Fellow bus drivers said, off camera, that they were shocked to hear of Shrader's arrest. They said he had only been working for the district for less than one year. One driver said it made her wonder what Shrader's intentions were on the job.
Shrader is being held on $1 million bail at the Washington County Jail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.