Hatboro Police: former employee did not use Borough computers, IT systems in alleged child pornography distribution case

On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the Hatboro Police Department was advised by Federal and County law enforcement agencies that a civilian employee of the Borough’s police Department, Douglas Penglase, 37, has been investigated and arrested for alleged distribution of child pornography. 

Penglase was a police operations clerk, a civilian administrative role, according to Hatboro Police. Penglase was also an Upper Moreland High School Co-Curricular employee since 2020. 

According to Chief Mark D. Ruegg, he is no longer employed by the Police Department or the High School. 

“The police department takes such events very seriously,” Hatboro Police Department wrote in a release. “There are no indications that any Borough owned computers or IT systems were involved. After reviewing the information which has been provided by law enforcement personnel, the employee is no longer employed by the Borough.”

On May 27, 2024, the social media platform Kik reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that one of its users was transmitting files depicting child pornography (Child Sex Abuse Material or CSAM). NCMEC flagged 50 files as CSAM, specifically, depictions of prepubescent female minor children between the approximate ages of 8-12 years engaged in sexual activities with adults.

The contents of the Kik account were obtained by law enforcement via a search warrant, and review of the contents revealed almost 300 files containing CSAM. The search warrant return also included more than 1,100 messages between that target and other Kik users.

The criminal complaint alleges that the defendant was one of the other users involved in chatting about, and trading, CSAM, with the original Kik user and the defendant distributing nine CSAM videos each.

The complaint further alleges that law enforcement also obtained the contents of the Kik account belonging to the defendant. A review of the account revealed approximately 780 files containing CSAM.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.