Federal prosecutors have taken over the case of a Hulmeville Borough man accused of using fake online identities to solicit sexually inappropriate videos from minors.
Mark William Wills, 61, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Philadelphia on 14 counts, including manufacturing and distributing child pornography, cyberstalking of a minor, and interstate threats.
Wills has been in federal custody since Aug. 12 after a criminal complaint was filed by federal authorities, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Prior, Wills had been in Bucks County custody since February after the U.S. Marshals Service apprehended him in West Virginia as he attempted to flee.
Manuel Gamiz, a spokesperson for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, said local prosecutors are not moving forward with their case and federal prosecutors are taking over.
The indictment alleges Wills used numerous online usernames, including “Lorenzo Guerra,” “Alex Harrison,” “kevthompson2009,” “18kevinmcbride,” and “leonardobrickma,” to trick minors into sending him sexually explicit videos.
The grand jury alleges that he distributed and possessed visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and that at least one minor depicted was under the age of 12.
The indictment mentions three victims. It also states Wills caused emotional distress to the victims and threatened to harm the family of one minor if she did not continue sending sexually explicit images.
In the Bucks County case, prosecutors said one of the victims was from Canada.
The investigation began Dec. 16 after Bucks County Detectives received tips from social media platforms Kik and Snapchat about a user sharing suspected child sexual exploitation files. A subpoena to Verizon helped trace the account’s IP address back to Wills’ residence in the 300 block of Main Street in Hulmeville Borough.
On Jan. 24, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Wills’ home, seizing multiple electronic devices and handwritten documents listing names and birthdates, with notes indicating the majority were teenagers. Detectives also discovered instructions on deleting social media accounts, along with notes on girls who had shown nudity online, according to court papers.
Investigators said earlier this year that they uncovered hundreds of recordings of Wills interacting with girls who appeared to be underage. The recordings allegedly included instances where the girls removed their clothing, performed sex acts, and where Wills also performed sex acts.
The 61-year-old was apprehended in February near Clarksburg, West Virginia, after fleeing Bucks County.
Robert Clark, the supervisory deputy marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said Wills was attempting to start a new life in West Virginia and had documents to apply for Section 8 housing.
Wills has a criminal history in the region, including being featured in a 1993 Time Magazine article as “one of Philadelphia’s biggest car thieves.” The article detailed his involvement in auto theft since the age of 14.
The FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations assisted federal prosecutors. Additionally, the investigators were assisted by the Bucks County Detectives, Warrington Township Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the Bensalem Township Police Department, the Middletown Township Police Department, the Lower Southampton Township Police Department, the Northampton Township Police Department, the Hulmeville Borough Police Department, and law enforcement in West Virginia.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
