On December 2, 2021, the Criminal Investigations Division received a report from the Chester County Detectives of suspected sharing of child pornography. The report was received as a result of a submission by the Internet Service Providers Tumblr, Dropbox, and Snapchat to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by way of CyberTips. The investigation identified the physical address of the offender via their IP address as being located in the Chadds Ford section of Kennett Township. A search warrant was obtained and executed which resulted in the seizure of electronic devices. Additional searches were conducted on those devices which yielded evidence of possession of child pornography by James “Jamie” Bell IV.

A criminal complaint was approved in late October 2022 after the conclusion of the investigation. Bell surrendered to Law Enforcement and was arraigned on November 7, 2022. During arraignment, bail was set at $250,000 unsecured with a surrender order of his passport.

Sgt. Christopher Gravina, a Chester County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force member, investigated the incident. KSPD was assisted by the Chester County ICAC Task Force members, the Chester County Detectives, and the Kennett Township Police Department.

Call Childline at 1-800-932-0313 if you suspect a child is being abused.

Learn to recognize, react to, and report child sexual abuse by taking a free virtual Stewarts of Children workshop. Contact County Coordinator Elisa Mendoza at emendoza@chesco.org or 610-344-5576 for more information.