A Schuylkill County man was jailed Thursday on multiple felony charges after police say he admitted to downloading and sharing child sexual abuse material using a mobile messaging app.
Paul Tuske, 32, of Minersville, was arraigned this morning before Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli on four second-degree felony counts of disseminating photographs or film of child sex acts, four second-degree felony counts involving child sexual abuse material, and one third-degree felony count of criminal use of a communication facility. Tuske was remanded to Schuylkill County Prison after failing to post $75,000 bail.
An investigation into Tuske’s alleged activity began after police received nine cybertip referrals from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a user on Kik. Police say the referrals spanned from July 2024 to July 2025 and flagged dozens of digital files depicting child sexual abuse being uploaded to private chats and messaging groups.
Police say they reviewed 77 files consisting of videos and photographs that depicted minor female children being subjected to severe sexual abuse and exploitation. The IP address used to send the files, police say, was linked to an active internet account registered to a resident at a home on North St. in Minersville.
After establishing physical surveillance and linking Tuske to the address through vehicle registration and phone records, police obtained a search warrant from Judge Anthony Kilker on Wednesday. This morning, police say they executed the search warrant at Tuske’s North St. residence.
During an interview with police, Tuske allegedly confirmed he and his sister were the only residents and that no one else accessed his electronic devices. Police say Tuske admitted to using Kik and other social media applications on a cell phone to download, possess, and disseminate child pornography, adding that he had viewed such material in the past two weeks.
A search of the residence revealed a phone in Tuske’s bedroom. Police say a forensic examination of the device revealed additional video files depicting the severe sexual abuse of minors.
Police say Tuske was taken into custody and transported to the State Police-Frackville barracks for processing. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for June 23 before Senior Judge Edward Lewis.
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