One of the four men charged in Centre County’s alleged child sex trafficking case is now facing a federal indictment.
A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania has indicted Morris W. Reese on one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography, according to court records filed Thursday. The indictment alleges the conspiracy occurred between November 2024 and November 17, 2025, in Centre County.
The federal charge appears to mark the first indictment stemming from the Centre County investigation that shocked the region earlier this year.
In May, we reported that Reese, along with Samuel Friday, Michael Woomer and James Kobuck, was among four men accused by state investigators of operating a child sex ring from Friday’s Taylor Township home. Prosecutors alleged the men had sexual contact with teenage girls and photographed some of the encounters. State charges included human trafficking, with investigators saying the alleged victims were from Blair County.
The state prosecuting attorneys are reviewing what authorities have described as an extensive amount of evidence, including videos, photographs and other media seized during the investigation.
The newly unsealed federal indictment does not detail the broader allegations in the state case, but instead charges Reese with participating in a conspiracy to employ, persuade, induce and coerce minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that conduct, in violation of federal law.
Reese is scheduled to make his initial appearance and arraignment in U.S. District Court in Williamsport at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, June 29.
The state criminal cases against Reese and the three other defendants remain pending.