An 80-year-old alleged child pornographer is headed to trial with 30 more sex crime charges against him.
Thomas Holliday, of Edgewood Road in Lower Makefield, initially was charged with 62 counts each of sexual abuse of children and photographing or videotaping a child sex act on a computer, as well as charges of indecent assault on a person under age 16, sexual contact with a minor and related child sex charges.
The additional counts were added Wednesday during a brief court appearance in Morrisville District Judge Michael Burns' courtroom. Now the total counts against Holliday stand at 92.
Holliday waived all the charges to Bucks County Court for trial. He remains in Bucks County prison in lieu of $5 million bail.
Lower Makefield police allege that Holliday sexually abused a girl starting when she was 15 years old and captured the abuse on still images and video.
Detectives reviewed more than 70 CDs that were turned in to police, which, they allege, show an underage girl engaged in sexual activity with Holliday. Several CDs showed Holliday allegedly taking still photos of the girl.
All the CDs were dated and time-stamped before the girl turned 18, police said.
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| Thomas Holliday |
Police also viewed three CDs made before the girl turned 16 in which Holliday can be seen groping or touching the girl in a sexual manner and the girl is heard or seen on the video telling him “no,” and “stop,” as she pushed, kicked or slapped Holliday, according to court documents.
After the hearing, Holliday’s attorney, Ron Elgart, said he and prosecutors are working to negotiate a plea deal. He added that Holliday’s health has significantly deteriorated since his arrest.
Holliday, who appeared thin and frail, used a cane to walk and he had a loud cough, which he attributed to emphysema.
Lower Makefield police started investigating Holliday after allegations surfaced that he had been abusing the girl since 2009, according to a probable-cause affidavit. An adult relative of the girl turned over CDs she took from Holliday’s house and that the girl claimed captured the abuse, according to police. The earliest CDs were dated 2009 and the most recent January 2011, police said.
On the CDs, Holliday also is seen labeling and packaging CDs in brown wrapping paper. The girl asks Holliday whether he is mailing them, and he tells her yes, according to the affidavit.
During the video he also asked the girl if she knew what he was doing when he wrapped a piece of paper around something on his desk, court documents said.
“So the trash men don’t find it,” she replied, according to court documents.
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