Berks county man arrested for possessing 2 million child porn photos

Joel Gardner. Credit: provided Joel Gardner. Credit: provided

A previously convicted sex offender was arrested today and police are saying he had 2 million images of child pornography on his computer and external storage devices.

Joel David Gardner, 40, was reportedly arrested at his home on the 2700 block of Kutztown Road in Muhlenberg Township, after his probation officer told police that Gardner had a computer and pornographic images on it, WFMZ reported.

Gardner is prohibited from having a computer under the terms of his probation.

The nature of the images is unclear other than they are pornographic.

Gardner, who is on the Meghan’s Law sex offender registry, is currently free on parole after a November 2008 conviction for possession of child pornography.

Gardner, who at that time lived in Douglassville in Berks County, was found by police who raided his home to possess hundreds of images of girls aged 8 to 12, including some pictures of children under 13 who were engaged in sexual conduct.

At that time Gardner was reportedly serving three years probation for a 2006 charge of corruption of a minor for allegedly offering a 16-year-old girl who worked at a fast-food restaurant $100 to have sex with him or get naked for him, according to reports.

The girl told police that Gardner had repeatedly been coming to the restaurant since 2005, harassing her with sexual talk and at one point slapping her on the rear end.

Gardner will likely face new charges of viewing and possessing child pornography.

The arrest was reported today but Muhlenberg Township declined to comment on the exact time the arrest took place.