A former Falls Township apartment complex maintenance man agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count of child porn earlier this month.
Stephen Kobren, 63, of the Fairless Hills section of Falls Township agreed to plead guilty to one count of child pornography earlier this month.
Bucks County Judge Charissa J. Liller approved the guilty plea at a December 6 hearing, deferring Kobren’s sentencing until next year, according to court online court records.
He was originally arrested and jailed in June of 2022 on one count of unlawful contact with a minor, a sexual offense of the third degree and the child pornography charge. He was remanded to Bucks County Prison and has remained there since his arrest.
Kobren spent more than one year in jail before appearing for a preliminary hearing back in September of this year.
According to public safety sources, the delays were to assess Kobren’s competency to stand for the hearing and later trial. Court records show Bucks County prosecutors requested the competency evaluation soon after his June 2022 arrest.
Two anonymous tips to the Falls Twp Police Crimewatch watch is what jump started the investigation. The tips said Kobren, of the Lakeview Terrace Apartments, was in possession of child pornography.
Kobren was a maintenance man at the apartment complex for about 12 years and has lived there for 20, police said in court papers. Police located and spoke with Kobren in June of 2022.
Investigators said that during their conversation with Kobren, he admitted he rarely viewed child pornography. He did admit to police that he accidentally visited child pornography sites on his digital devices while looking for or at adult pornographic images, according to the criminal complaint. He also admitted to being in possession of 15 to 20 books that depict children in different stages of development, including images of naked children, police said, which did not appear to have any educational or medical purpose.
Police also noted, in the affidavit of probable cause, Kobren visits porn websites to look at graphic media depicting women defecating.
Of concern to investigators was Kobren’s seemingly growing fascination with a local girl whose family resided in the area of Lakeview Terrace Apartments. The parent of the child in question described Kobren’s “stalkerish” and “leering” behaviors to police and this publication during 2022 and 2023.
Kobren told police the girl’s (withheld by LBS) name, her activities, and on what street she lives. He also admitted to having masturbatory fantasies involving her. Kobren said the girl looked like O’Rourke and called her a ‘reincarnation’ of the now dead actress.
The child was interviewed by police and recalled Kobren staring at her while she played with the family pet dog.
Kobren also said the girl was trying to impress and tease him at times, police said.
Kobren is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2023 in Doylestown.
He was found guilty of indecent exposure (and related offenses) in a 1999 case, which online records provide little information, only that they were misdemeanors, but could impact his sentencing next year.