By Jai-Leen James
Photo released by Baltimore County Police.
The youth group leader at a local church in Baltimore County was arrested Thursday and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, police said.
Gregory W. Gibson, 63, of the 10300 block of Malcolm Circle in Cockeysville is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on $750,000 bail. Police said they found hundreds of thousands of child pornography on Gibson’s hard drive.
Police described the images as “disturbing” and said they involved “extremely young children,” including many of prepubescent girls. In addition, police said the images depicted child sexual abuse and explicit sex acts and erotica involving children.
The investigation began in February when detectives traced child pornography to Gibson’s computer, police said.
Police said they used search and seizure warrants to search the home and workplace of Gibson, who is a youth group leader at the Chinese Christian Church of Baltimore in Parkville, according to a police statement.
The ages of the children in the group range from 9 to college age, police said.
Police said they discovered about 250,000 pornographic images of young children, mostly girls.
Authorities said they also discovered that Gibson’s wife was running an unlicensed daycare from their home. There are no indications as to whether Gibson has abused children or used any children he knows to produce porn, police said.
Detectives from the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit described the incident as one of the most serious children pornography cases to date.
The investigation is ongoing.