Swansea man faces multiple child pornography charges

A 38-year-old Swansea man faces multiple child pornography charges after a months-long investigation by a Swansea detective.

Patrick K. Judge Jr. was charged Thursday with three counts of possession of child pornography/child under 13, according to a news release from the Swansea Police Department.

Judge was being held in the St. County Jail on Saturday after he was ordered to be detained following a detention hearing Friday.

Under the state’s new detention hearing system that began Sept. 18, prosecutors can ask that a judge decides whether a defendant should be released or ordered to remain in jail until their trial.

Judge was booked into the jail on Tuesday. Court records do not list a defense attorney for Judge.

A “specially trained” Swansea detective conducted the investigation, police said.

“Throughout the investigation, numerous search warrants were executed, which resulted in evidence being recovered from his residence,” the news release stated. “Due to the pending status of the criminal proceedings and the nature of the criminal offense, further details about the investigation will not be released by the police department at this time.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 2:00 PM.