Charles William Guthier, 56, of Quakertown. (Credit: Bucks County DA)
A convicted sex offender was sentenced on Friday to 11 to 24 years in state prison for sharing child sexual abuse material.
Charles William Guthier, 56, of Quakertown, pleaded guilty in September to disseminating child sexual abuse material, possession of child pornography, and criminal use of a communication facility, according to court records.
Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. sentenced Guthier to five to 10 years on the first count, five to 10 years on the second count and one to four years on the third count, with sentences running consecutively, per court documents.
As a Tier III sex offender, Guthier will have to register with Megan’s Law for the rest of his life.
Police said in October 2023, a sergeant with the Warrington Township Police Department was conducting an online investigation and identified a host computer using peer-to-peer file sharing software.
The sergeant was able to identify 71 files of CSAM, also known as child pornography, being shared by the host computer, police said. The IP address of the host computer was later confirmed to belong to Guthier.
On Feb. 21, 2024, a search warrant was executed at Guthier’s home and investigators seized several electronics and storage devices. An FBI forensic analysis of the evidence found 2,500 files depicting CSAM, police said. Those files included the 71 files that were identified in October 2023 by investigators.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Guthier on March 21, 2024, and police learned that he was arrested in South Padre Island by the U.S. Border Patrol, close to the border into Mexico, authorities said. He was eventually extradited back to Bucks County.
Investigators discovered Guthier was already registered as a sex offender because of a previous conviction.
Warrington Township Police were assisted in the investigation by the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, Bucks County Detectives, the Quakertown Borough Police Department, the Hilltown Township Police Department and the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney David E. O’Beirne.
