Ricky Lynn “Rick” Troutman, who for years owned and operated Camelot Cleaners at 12th and Walnut streets in Lebanon, faces decades in prison if convicted of multiple child pornography charges filed in Lebanon County Common Pleas Court.
Troutman, 68, was arrested in his Lebanon city home on the morning of Dec. 15 after investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crime Unit obtained a search warrant for his residence and cellphone.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to all charges at his formal arraignment on Feb. 22, and is scheduled for trial during the May 20 trial term.
Troutman faces four charges of sexual abuse of children and one charge of criminal use of a communication facility. All are felonies. He remains in the Lebanon County Correctional Facility in lieu of $200,000 bail.
If convicted on all counts, Troutman faces up to 44 years in jail.
Documents filed in court allege that investigators received a tip last August from the operators of Kik, a Canadian instant messaging service, through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, alleging that a user had uploaded “(2) digital files of child pornography” containing naked images of a male and female, both “prepubescent.”
Elsewhere in those documents, investigators allege they found two photos on Troutman’s phone of a nude female, approximately 2 years old, and a nude male, approximately 1 year old. Both photos were allegedly uploaded to Kik by Troutman.
Investigators also allege that Troutman uploaded a video of an unidentified naked female, approximately 7 to 9 years old.
Although Kik can be used without providing a valid name, phone number, or email address, it records users’ IP addresses, which can be used to determine a user’s phone company and approximate location. Kik also included an email address and username in its report.
Investigators allege that they issued subpoenas to two cell companies Troutman had used, and identified him as the uploader of the images.
Agents began surveilling Troutman’s home in December and, after confirming his identity, arrested him early on the morning of Dec. 15. Records filed in court indicate that investigators allegedly found three illegal images, two still photos and a video, traceable to Troutman.
Troutman is alleged to have consented to a lie detector test and admitted that the images came from him, and that he had received and sent files containing child pornography while utilizing the Kik application. Troutman is also alleged to have said that he believed the username that had been provided by Kik was the same one as he used to access the app.
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf told LebTown on March 20 that the search of Troutman’s home uncovered about 1 million pornographic images, of which about 200,000 are believed to be illegal images of children. Those additional images are not mentioned in investigators’ court filings.
Hess Graf could not say how many devices containing those images were found.
Hess Graf added that she was not aware of any evidence that Troutman physically assaulted any children.
On Jan. 29, Troutman’s wife filed a divorce complaint in Lebanon County Common Pleas Court. Pleadings filed in that case allege that she and Troutman have no minor children together, and that the victims are the “wife’s grandchildren, whom she cares for periodically,” suggesting that Troutman is not the victims’ biological grandfather.
Hess Graf said she believes, but is not certain, that the 1- and 2-year-old victims are not Troutman’s biological grandchildren.
The wife’s attorney had not responded by publication time to requests for confirmation of Troutman’s relationship to the children.
Troutman’s attorney, Jay Nigrini of Reading, had no comment on the case.
Troutman’s case is scheduled for trial during the week of May 20.
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