Philly Man Accused of Scary Teen Sextortion Scheme
The charges involve a 14-year-old girl and a cell phone filled with more than a thousand disturbing images.
Left: David Bolwell (provided) | Right: David Bolwell in a Philadelphia Police Department photo
If you’re a parent, this is one of those stories that you really don’t want to hear, but kind of need to hear. A federal grand jury just indicted 58-year-old Bridesburg resident David Bolwell, charging him with manufacture and attempted manufacture of child pornography and possession of child pornography. The charges stem from an alarming sextortion scheme Bolwell is alleged to have been behind.
According to federal prosecutors, a 14-year-old Philadelphia girl reported an incident to the Philadelphia Police Department back on February 3rd. Court documents indicate that the girl told police that a man walked up to her as she was on her way home from school in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia and handed her a note, which she turned over to her mother.
The note started by addressing the girl with her first name, which authorities have withheld since she is a minor.
“I’m writing this to you to let you know that I am an independent Special Investigator,” the note continued. “I know many things about you and wanted to let you know that you could be in some pretty serious trouble. And I have obtained many many photos and videos of you having group sex parties with most of your girlfriends and a few older men during your so called sleepovers. I know the truth and these pictures from your phone and other electronic devices don’t lie.”
The note went on to describe online activities that the man claimed she participated in, including watching pornography and participating in webcam shows.
“I can help you out, but your [sic]really going to have to talk to me. Otherwise if your parents or the authorities find out you could be in trouble.”
The note ended with the man telling her that she is “sexy” and “absolutely beautiful.” Not only did the man know her name, but he also knew the names of eight of her friends by first and last name — they were named in the letter — and he knew what school she went to and that she played soccer.
A few days after the girl went to the police, investigators found surveillance footage from the date of her interaction with the man, showing a man waiting for around 20 minutes in a 2019 Dodge Ram, leaving the truck, walking over to the girl, and handing her a letter. Then, he walked into a house down the street. The cops ran a check on the address of the house he walked into and determined that Bolwell lives in the house. They also found that Bolwell had a 2019 Dodge Ram registered to that address.
Police searched the home and found a Samsung Galaxy phone. They went through the phone and realized that there were hundreds of images of the girl taken over more than a year, up through January 24th. Investigators say that the images were taken from outside her home and that some show her in her bedroom in various states of undress.
On February 12th, a Special Victims Unit detective and an FBI agent interviewed Bolwell with his attorney present. According to court documents, Bolwell admitted that he took the photos and that he wrote her a letter purportedly to “help” her.
A further search of the phone revealed that the device contained numerous videos showing that Bolwell had followed her as she was walking in the neighborhood and coming and going from her house. The FBI says that his web history made it clear that he had been through her social media accounts, including X, Instagram, and Facebook. Further, prosecutors allege that they found more than a thousand images of child pornography on the phone that had been downloaded from the internet and involved mainly prepubescent girls being sexually assaulted by adult men.
In a motion to ask the judge to release Bolwell on bail, his attorney wrote that Bolwell “did not cause the victim to stand in her window, it was an opportunity, so to speak, and he took advantage of it by taking a photo of her with his phone; thus, there is no evidence that he employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed or coerced, this alleged victim; he in no way caused her to be there; simply put, she was there and he took a picture.”
The judge did not buy the argument; Bolwell remains in custody. If convicted on all charges, he faces a minimum of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum of 30.
