Following his arraignment on felony charges of possessing child pornography, Michael Ritter is taken to the county prison where he was jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

Michael Allen Ritter, who pleaded no contest to stealing from the 9/11 Memorial Ride in March, will now stand trial on child pornography possession charges, District Judge William Solomon ruled, following a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Ritter, 37, faces six counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, five of which authorities say they found during an initial search of his cell phone in relation to the 9/11 theft charges.

A second search warrant was approved on April 3 permitted detectives to “extract” data from “the full file system” of the cell phone, the affidavit stated. In reviewing the material in the file, investigators found yet another image deemed child pornography.

That image was described as a close up of a prepubescent female’s private area by Lycoming County Detective Loretta Badger during the hearing.

Other images, all of prepubescent girls, included those in the photos with their tops removed, some with an adult male in the photos with them. One of the females in the photographs had braces on her teeth, Badger testified.

Ritter, of 26 E. Village Drive, was at the home he shares with his wife and five minor children when police executed the search warrant, she said. The encounter was captured on body cameras worn by authorities.

Asked how they could identify the close up photo as that of a child, Badger stated the anatomy of the female made it clear she was a child.

Defense attorney Alyssa Fenoy reserved any arguments for trial, but petitioned the court to make Ritter eligible for pre-trial services, which might afford him the opportunity to be released from prison without posting his currently required $100,000 bail.

She cited his lack of a criminal record, as well as the low flight risk he presents.

“I’ll never agree to anyone facing charges involving child sexual abuse to being released on bail,” First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade said when asked for his position.

“He may be a danger to the community, as well as to his own children,” Wade stressed.

Solomon noted that bail serves two purposes, to prevent the accused from fleeing prosecution and to ensure public safety.

“I’m not concerned that he might be a flight risk. What concerns me is the safety of the community,” he said, specifically noting the presence of five minor children within Ritter’s home.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate at this time,” Solomon said in denying the request.

No trial date has been set at this time.