Editor’s Note: This article includes graphic descriptions that may be disturbing, offensive, or triggering to some readers. The content is not meant to offend but provide complete and an accurate account of the crimes allegedly committed by the accused.
Readers are advised to proceed with discretion
A 71-year-old Croydon man with a 30-year history of sex crimes involving children was arrested and jailed late last month on three felony counts of possessing child sexual abuse material (CASM), which involved federal and Arizona authorities.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on May 2, 2024, the Fort Washington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) became aware of online conversations between the suspect, Gary Durfee and a known child sexual exploitation subject in Chattanooga, Tennessee (herein referred to as “Subject,” the true name disclosed to law enforcement but omitted to protect the confidentiality of the ongoing investigation). Durfee received CSAM material on his WhatsApp account (Display Name: Corey Bratton) from the subject only known to authorities.
Durfee’s WhatsApp account lists a telephone number of 843-540-9189. A search of this telephone number through police accessible data sources confirmed it is subscribed to by Durfee on the 400 block of Sycamore Ave, Croydon. Of note, the area code 843 is assigned to South Carolina’s eastern and coastal regions, including Beaufort County, SC (Hilton Head), investigators wrote in court papers.
A review of Durfee’s seized WhatsApp account revealed a direct message between Durfee and the previously mentioned subject. In this conversation, which investigators viewed, the subject sent, and Durfee received, numerous CSAM images and videos. The following describes two of the images and videos sent and received. These images and videos are indicated by two blue check marks on the Subject’s phone, authorities said.
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On January 13, 2023, a video of a nude prepubescent boy with his legs spread, looking at the camera and masturbating. The video is verified as received/read.
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On January 14, 2023, a multi-picture collage depicted sexually explicit images of what appeared to be prepubescent or early puberty-aged boys. This collage of images is verified as sent and received.
These are only two of the many images and videos sent from the Subject to Durfee’s WhatsApp account under the name of Corey Bratton.
In June 2024, Lower Makefield Township’s Police Det. Lange was contacted by the Chandler Arizona Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Detectives investigated an individual for multiple crimes against children violations. Upon charging, they learned that the subject in their investigation (hereinafter “Subject 2,” the identity also known to the police but omitted from publication to protect the confidentiality of the ongoing investigation), had been talking to Durfee, mainly through Durfee’s Facebook page, “Corey Bratton,” account.
In a joint investigation between the Lower Makefield Township Police Department and the FBI, on November 18, 2024, a search warrant was served upon Meta, Inc. (owner of Facebook) for records relating to Durfee’s “Corey Bratton” account, according to the probable cause.
On December 4, 2024, Meta, Inc. returned a large file of documents associated with the referenced account. A thorough review of the returned documents led to the discovery of several CSAM images. These images include a chat thread in which the Facebook ID belonging to “Corey Bratton” is listed as an “active participant” as recently as December 4, 2024. In this thread, at least eight images of CSAM were distributed to the chat participants, that is, images depicting the lascivious exhibition of the anus, genitals, or pubic area of minor boys, at least two of whom were prepubescent, authorities wrote in court papers.
As a result of the information above, a search warrant was obtained to search Dufree’s residence at his Croydon home. This warrant was executed on March 14, 2025, at approximately 6:10 a.m. by the FBI, Task Force Officers, Detectives Lange and Landamia. During this search several potential evidentiary items were seized and taken to the FBI Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in Radnor, PA, police said.
While many of the items seized are still being processed, one of them, an HP laptop, was completed recently. Authorities viewed hundreds of images depicting naked prepubescent Caucasian males in various positions, some appearing staged, some appearing candid. In addition, three specific CSAM examples are detailed as follows, authorities said::
1) A photograph of a middle-aged nude Caucasian female on a bed, with her knees bent. There is a prepubescent male straddling her on the bed, with his penis towards her face.
2) A middle-aged Caucasian male performing oral sex on a prepubescent Caucasian male
3) A prepubescent nude Caucasian male sitting on another prepubescent Caucasian male who penetrated him.
These are only a few images located on a secure digital drive inserted into Durfee’s laptop. In an interview on-scene, Durfee confirmed the items belonged to him, including this laptop, said investigators.
Dufree in the 90’s and 2001 had convictions in Philadelphia County. Namely involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault in 1991 for which he was sentenced four to 1o years in state prison im the fall of 1992
Magisterial District Judge Michael W. Petrucci arraigned Durfee on March 28 remanding him to Bucks County Correctional Facility with bail set at 10 percent of $500,000,00 with a current court date set for April 23 at Bristol Borough District Court.