A child and a bear
The 66-year-old was criminally charged with sexual abuse of children in October - Representational image iStock

A Pennsylvania Democrat has resigned from his post on Monday (6 November) night after being charged with possession and dissemination of child porn, which included children being sexually abused by animals.

Philip Ahr's resignation from the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners came days after he stepped down as the board's president on 23 October. The 66-year-old was criminally charged with sexual abuse of children, and criminal use of a communication facility in October, WPVI-TV Philadelphia reported.

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District Attorney Jack Whelan said that the crimes allegedly committed by Ahr were "very disturbing".

"The ages of these children is particularly disturbing. Anywhere from infants to 2-4 to 3-6, and all in those different categories," Whelan added.

The former Democrat reportedly came to the township's office on Monday afternoon to submit his resignation. He also handed over his badge and a work iPad. More illegal images were reportedly found on the iPad, which Ahr allegedly tried to delete.

However, it was not clear whether he will face more charges for these newly-discovered images.

Township Manager Robert Zienkowski said that it was quite shocking to "take a township-issued iPad and to find what we have found on there today".

However, it is not clear whether he continued looking at the illegal images after his October arrest. "I think it's very disgusting. It's awful. My hope is the prosecutor does everything they possibly can to put this individual away," Zienkowski said.

Authorities started their investigation in late August after they received a tip-off from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, which said Ahr had uploaded and shared child pornography. On 21 September, a search warrant for his home was also issued and it was found that he used Yahoo Messenger to sext with unknown individuals, which involved sexual talk about children.

A desktop and a laptop computer were also seized from his home and over 1,000 web links to pornographic images, including child pornography, were found as a result of the examination.

Ahr, who remains free on bail, is now expected to appear in court on 30 November.