A local attorney who was charged last week with child pornography served on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of York and Adams Counties and DreamWrights Center for Community Arts — two nonprofit organizations that work with children.
Christopher L. Harris, 33, of Carlisle, was charged in Cumberland County last week with felony counts of child pornography, disseminating child pornography and criminal use of a communications facility.
Cumberland County District Attorney Seán M. McCormack said last week that Harris is an attorney who works in York County.
Harris has served as a member of the board of directors for the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2021, and he had been the vice president since January 2023, Attorney Zachary Nahass, president of the board, said in an email.
"Mr. Harris has been suspended from his position as VP and as a director, pending official Board action at a special meeting of the Board scheduled for this evening," Nahass wrote on Tuesday.
Generally, members of the board have no interaction with minors, and the organization is not aware of any contact between Harris and any of the children it serves, Nahass said.
"... The health and safety of the children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters is our highest priority," he said in the email.
Harris also recently served on the board of directors of DreamWrights.
Harris was elected in January 2021 and he served on the human resources committee, Executive Director Ann Davis said in an email.
He did not have unsupervised or one-on-one contact with minors that the organization is aware of, she said.
He's no longer involved with the organization, Davis said.
Attorney no longer serves as solicitor for Adams County school district
Harris until recently served as solicitor for the Littlestown Area School District.
Littlestown interim Supt. Don Bell sent an email to school officials on Thursday advising them that Harris was no longer employed by Stock & Leader, the law firm representing the district.
Steve Hovis, the managing partner for Stock & Leader, said in an email last week that the firm does not comment on personnel matters.
Harris is listed as serving on the board of the City of York's Business Improvement District Authority. The mayor and council approve the appointments, but the authorities act independently, according to a statement from the city.
Because he is no longer employed, "we understand Christopher Harris is ineligible" to serve as a member of the authority because "he is neither a resident or taxpayer within the Business Improvement District," the statement says.
The city is awaiting information from the authority about any action it may choose to take, the statement says.
Investigation started last year after tip: state police
Pennsylvania State Police started an investigation in August 2023 when a cloud storage company sent a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding child pornography that had been uploaded to its online storage system.
State police filed a subpoena on the account and the internet service provider, which led them to Harris' Carlisle apartment, the affidavit states. Law enforcement seized his cellphone and computer while executing a search warrant at his home.
Police discovered a video of child pornography in Harris' phone, the affidavit states. It was located in a "secure folder," which requires a password to open.
In addition, police found "a photograph of what appears to be high school aged students standing and talking to each other outside" that the affidavit states was taken on Harris' phone.
The image was edited on the phone to create a "series of images which continually zooms in to the crotch of one of the males," the affidavit states. It did not appear the students knew their photograph was being taken, the affidavit states.
Harris and his attorney have not returned messages seeking comment.
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