An attorney practicing in York County faces felony charges related to child pornography, according to court documents.
Christopher L. Harris, 33, of Carlisle, was charged Thursday, June 27, by Pennsylvania State Police with felony counts of child pornography, dissemination of child pornography and criminal use of a communications facility.
Harris was arraigned Thursday afternoon and released on $50,000 unsecured bail, according to court documents.
Cumberland County District Attorney Seán M. McCormack said Harris is an attorney who works in York County.
Affidavit details investigation
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began on August 11, 2023, when a cloud storage company sent a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child pornography that had been uploaded to its online storage system.
Police served a subpoena on the account and Internet service provider, leading them to Harris’s apartment in Carlisle, the affidavit states.
On May 29, 2024, police obtained a search warrant for Harris’s home, which was executed on the morning of May 31.
During the execution of the search warrant, the affidavit states, Harris provided officers with the passwords to his cell phone and computer, which were then confiscated by officers.
Following a forensic analysis of Harris’ devices, according to the affidavit, police discovered a video of child pornography, which was located in the “secure folder” of his phone, a folder that requires a password to open.
Cloud storage account information that gave rise to the investigation was also found, according to the affidavit. While Harris allegedly told officers that he had deleted the cloud storage app in 2018, phone data showed Harris had deleted and redownloaded it in 2023 and as recently as April 2024, according to the police. sworn declaration.
On the phone, police also found “a photograph of what appears to be high school students standing and talking to each other outside” that the affidavit said was taken with Harris’ phone.
The image was edited on the phone to create a “series of images that continually zoom in on one of the men’s crotch,” the affidavit states. The students did not appear to be aware that their photograph was being taken, the affidavit states.
A review of the Internet history of Harris’ phone also shows that Harris had visited a website that collected user stories about adult men who had sexual contact with minors, according to the affidavit. The phone history showed that she had clicked on a “multitude” of these stories over a span of several dates, according to the affidavit.
A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for July 24, 2024.
Littlestown School Attorney
Harris until recently served as an attorney for the Littlestown Area School District.
According to a Gettysburg Times report, Littlestown Interim Supt. Don Bell sent an email to school officials Thursday informing them that Harris was no longer employed by Stock & Leader, the law firm that represents the district.
According to school board records, Stock & Leader was selected by Littlestown to represent the district in February. School board minutes, in various places since February, reference school officials speaking with Attorney Harris about matters related to the school district.
On June 17, 2024, during the June school board meeting, the district approved a commitment letter written by Harris as part of the district’s contract for Stock & Leader for the 2024-2025 school year. The letter, as recorded in the minutes of the meeting, was dated April 26, 2024.
Google search results showing references to Harris on Stock & Leader’s website lead to a “page not found” page. The Internet archive website WaybackMachine shows Harris was listed as a government attorney on the Stock & Leader website on June 13, 2024.
A LinkedIn page for Harris said he had been an employee of Stock & Leader since 2018. Other social media accounts, linked to the username listed in the affidavit filed by police, talk about Harris being a lawyer and contain photos of Harris.
In a May 2024 news post that now leads to a “page not found” link, Stock & Leader announced that Harris was named to the “Super Lawyers 2024 Pennsylvania Rising Stars list in the Education practice area.” In that post, the firm said Harris was “a senior associate in the firm’s School Law group and concentrates his practice in all areas of public education,” and that he had “experience providing structure and guidance to administrators.” while conducting investigations into student and employee issues.”
Steve Hovis, managing partner at Stock & Leader, said in an email that the firm does not comment on personnel matters.
Harris and her attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.