Joseph Erkert charged with manufacturing child sexual abuse material and additional sexual-assault counts

Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin and Pennsylvania State Police charged 22-year-old Joseph Erkert of Dingmans Ferry with manufacturing and possessing child sexual abuse material, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault after investigations involving victims in Ontario, Canada and Pennsylvania. Authorities say Homeland Security Investigations forwarded information that a 12-year-old in Ottawa was coerced into sharing explicit images after Erkert traveled to Canada and provided a burner phone; a separate Pennsylvania victim, a 14-year-old family member, disclosed sexual abuse including digital penetration. Bail was set at $1,000,000 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled within 14 days; Erkert is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.