A Howard County gymnastics instructor has been charged in connection with possession and distribution of child pornography.
A detective with the Baltimore County Police Department surfing for child porn offenders connected with an IP address that was later tracked to 56-year-old Paul Daniel Bollinger. The detective was able to download more than 100 graphic videos from the IP address.
That gave police the evidence they needed to raid Bollinger's apartment in the 7600 block of Gladstone Road in Windsor Mill.
"Early yesterday morning, we served a search and seizure warrant on that home and recovered a computer and several digital media storage devices that were found to contain in excess of 30,000 images a videos of child pornography," Cpl. John Wachter of the Baltimore County Police Department said.
According to charging documents, the number of graphic images and movies found actually totals more than 47,000, and while Bollinger says he never had sexual contact with any of the girls he coached, some appeared fully clothed in gymnastics pictures in his home that appear to have become the subjects of his fantasies.
"We've also learned that the suspect is sexually attracted to children and even writes stories about having sex with children," Wachter said.
Through Top Flight's attorney, Charles Fuller, ABC2 News learned the gymnastic center is sending home a letter to the parents assuring them that it's committed to providing a safe and secure environment for its athletes and it is in the process of terminating Bollinger's employment there.
According to court records, when detectives searched Bollinger's home, they also spotted a picture of a nude female child lying on her stomach that he was using for wallpaper on the background of his desktop computer.
Bollinger was being held Thursday at the Baltimore County Detention Center with bail set at $2.5 million.
Police said the computer and storage devices will undergo a detailed forensic examination by the Baltimore County Police Digital and Multimedia Evidence Unit.
The investigation hasn’t indicated that Bollinger is involved in the production of child pornography.
Anyone with information on the suspect or this case is asked to call police at 410-307-2020.
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