A Pennsylvania couple is accused of sexually abusing children and filming the abuse.
State Police have filed charges against two Cumberland County residents, one of which recently worked at a local childcare facility.
Jamie Souders, 42, of Middlesex Township, and Morgan Rothenhoefer, 24, of the Carlisle area, are both charged with multiple child sexual abuse-related felonies, including one count of rape of a child, one count of aggravated indecent assault of a child and several counts of allowing a child to be recorded during sex, according to an online court docket.
Police charged Souders with 18 felonies; Rothenhoefer with 19.
The investigation began when a digital storage company alerted investigators to apparent images depicting child pornography being uploaded.
After a search warrant was executed, investigators say they found photos and videos of multiple children.
According to an affidavit, Souders allegedly encouraged an 8-year-old to have oral sex with Rothenhoefer.
Multiple videos were allegedly taken involving the child and Rothenhoefer, though State Police say the suspects claim they were not sober and don’t remember some of the alleged acts, WHTM and Fox 43 reported, citing the charging documents.
State Police say Rothenhoefer claimed she was “very drunk and on cocaine and Adderal” at the time of the recordings.
According to reports from WHTM, Patriot News and Fox 43, citing charging documents, the pair allegedly abused children as young as 8 years old and took both photos and videos later discovered by police.
It is not immediately clear if either has entered a plea.
A director at Tender Years Daycare Center in Silver Spring Township initially declined to comment when a PennLive reporter called Monday.
In a statement from the legal counsel for Tender Years, a childcare facility, Rothenhoefer was hired to work at Tender Years’ Walden, Silver Spring Township location on August 7, 2024, after undergoing criminal background checks.
The facility’s attorney says Rothenhoefer worked with another adult while children were present and that the allegations against her occurred before her employment.
Upon learning of the allegations, Rothenhoefer was terminated from her position at the childcare facility when she was arrested on September 12, 2024.
Souders possessed photos stretching back to 2006 of nude children or children wearing swimwear in sexually suggestive poses on his phone, according to police.
Police also found similar photographs printed and framed when they searched his home.
Souders also had photos and videos of Rothenhoefer sexually abusing children.
At the same time, he instructed the children on what to do, according to court records filed against the pair.
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According to those documents:
Souders uploaded the recordings of child sexual abuse to Synchronoss, a cloud-based storage server he accessed through Verizon Wireless and the company that filed the original cyber tip to state police.
Souders also downloaded child pornography from the internet, police say.
Police identified Rothenhoefer in Souders’ photos through a photo of her wearing her work credentials in one of the photos.
The couple sexually abused both boys and girls from ages 8 to 13.
Police say they could tell the abuse occurred in Souders’ home in Middlesex Township.
Rothenhoefer said she and Souders had known one another for around 10 years — Rothenhoefer would have been 14 when they met — and had a sexual relationship before abusing children together in March.
But Souders told police he has known Rothenhoefer for 15 years, police said, which would have made Rothenhoefer 9.
Rothenhoefer used drugs and alcohol during the incidents, and Souders was drunk during the incidents, they said.
Rothenhoefer posted on Facebook in May that she was looking for a job as a nanny in the Conowingo area of Maryland.
In August, a letter sent to Tender Years daycare parents introduced Rothenhoefer as a first-year preschool teacher.
She told her parents in the letter that she had five years of experience nannying and other in-centre daycare.
According to the letter, she was working with another co-teacher.
The affidavit against Rothenhoefer did not mention her job or any connection between the sex crimes and children at her job.
In all, Souders faces felony charges of child rape, aggravated indecent assault of a child, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a child, permitting a child to be recorded performing sexual acts, child pornography, corruption of minors and criminal use of a communications device.
Meanwhile, Rothenhoefer faces felony charges of child rape, aggravated indecent assault of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, permitting a child to be recorded performing sexual acts and corruption of minors.
Magisterial District Judge David Rogers denied bail for both defendants, giving the reason as “nature of charges involving a child.”
The purpose of bail is to keep the community safe and to make sure defendants show up for court proceedings.
Scott Dietterick, legal counsel for Tender Years, said the organization had no knowledge of the allegations against Rothenhoefer until her arrest on September 12.
Dietterick said that after learning about the criminal charges, Tender Years immediately fired her.
Rothenhoefer worked under Tender Years’ co-teacher approach, where two adult teachers were always present with the children, Dietterick said.
Police allegations against Rothenhoefer do not involve children under the care of Tender Years, Dietterick said.
The Cumberland County District Attorney’s office says both are facing charges for other victims beyond the media found by the storage company.
Rothenhoefer and Souders are locked up in Cumberland County Prison with their bail denied.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counsellor.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
