Update: Mike Folmer waived his preliminary hearing on Oct. 18. His case will more to Common Pleas Court.

A stunning cascade of events that started with the Pennsylvania Attorney General charging a state senator with crimes related to possession of child porn ended less than 24 hours later with the resignation Wednesday of Mike Folmer, a four-term Republican from Lebanon County.

Calls for him to quit were swift and far-reaching, including a scathing rebuke from Gov. Tom Wolf, who said, "The charges against Senator Folmer are disgusting and beyond comprehension, and show he has taken advantage of the trust and privilege afforded by the people of Pennsylvania. He should immediately resign.”

Hours after that statement was issued, Folmer stepped down as senator of the 48th District, which represents all of Lebanon County and parts of Dauphin and York counties. By mid-afternoon, references to him had been scrubbed from pages of the state senate website and the 48th District seat was listed as vacant.

More:Gov. Tom Wolf calls for state Sen. Mike Folmer's resignation after child pornography arrest

Even before that he had been stripped of his role as chairman of the state government committee and his Facebook and Twitter pages appeared to have been deactivated.

Calls to Folmer and his office were not returned Wednesday.

Casey Long, chairman of the Lebanon County Republican Committee, was among those who called for Folmer's resignation early Wednesday morning.

"While Senator Folmer has the right to defend himself, the best thing he can do for Lebanon County, the Commonwealth and the Republican Party is to resign immediately," Long said in a statement.

Two Lebanon County Republican elected officials said they were shocked by the arrest.

"It is difficult to imagine a way for someone to effectively serve our community under these particular circumstances," State Rep. Russ Diamond wrote in an email.

State Rep. Frank Ryan of Lebanon County said Wednesday morning that the news was a "gutshot."

"I'm hoping people can reserve judgment until more information comes out and spend time praying for him and his family," Ryan said.

Senate Republican leaders announced Folmer's resignation midday Wednesday. Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman said in a statement they reviewed the criminal complaint against Folmer and talked with him Wednesday morning to "insist on his resignation."

"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday," they said.

How the case against Mike Folmer unfolded

Agents from the state attorney general’s officer charged Folmer Tuesday night after images of child pornography were found on his phone by police who searched his home after obtaining a warrant.

The investigation began after a tipster reported that someone had uploaded an image of child pornography to the social networking website Tumblr.

“This defendant serves as a state Senator and was entrusted to honor and represent his community in the Pennsylvania Capitol,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a news release. “Tonight, our Office arrested Mr. Folmer for possession of child pornography and charged him with Sexual Abuse of Children, Possession of Child Pornography, and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility. I will continue to say it—no one is above the law, no matter what position of power they hold. I will continue to work to protect children and hold those who abuse them accountable.”

Shapiro’s criminal complaint against Folmer further details the charges.

In February, Tumblr notified the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children that a user had uploaded an image depicting child pornography in December 2017.

According to the criminal complaint, the account that uploaded the image was associated with a Yahoo email address that included the names "Jay" and "Michael." Jay is Folmer's middle name, according to the complaint.

A special agent with the Attorney General's Child Predator Unit began investigating the image in March of this year, according to the complaint, and eventually was able to associate the email address with a phone number and Folmer's home address.

A search warrant was issued Tuesday for Folmer's home, according to the complaint, and was executed about 10:30 a.m. At the same time, an agent from the attorney general's office went to Folmer's office in the Lebanon municipal building at 400 South 8th St.

Folmer reportedly told the agent in the attorney general's office and an agent with the Department of Homeland Security that the Tumblr account that posted the picture was his, and that he had been "dealing with some personal problems/issues" and had received images of child pornography through Tumblr.

Folmer was charged with possession of child pornography, sexual abuse of a child and criminal use of a communication facility.

More:Who is Mike Folmer? Pa. state senator arrested on child pornography charges, resigns seat

What happens next?

Under Pennsylvania law, the lieutenant governor in his role as head of the state senate has 10 days after a seat is vacated to schedule a special election.

A spokesperson for Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said Wednesday that there are no definite plans yet for a special election to fill Folmer's seat. According to the statute, the election cannot be held sooner than 60 days from when the election notice is issued.

Who is Pennsylvania state Sen. Mike Folmer?

A 63-year-old native of Lebanon, Folmer was first elected to the Pennsylvania senate in 2006 and was reelected to his fourth term last November. Folmer had served on the Lebanon City Council prior to being elected to the General Assembly in 2006. He supported medical marijuana legislation and had recently worked on election reform.

For nearly nine decades, Folmer’s family ran a produce store in Lebanon, a city of about 25,000 people that sits just east of the state capital of Harrisburg.

After graduating from Lebanon High School in 1974, Folmer went to Grace College in northern Indiana. He then returned to Lebanon, where he worked as a financial consultant and sales manager.

Folmer and his wife have two kids and seven grandchildren, according to his online biography.

He was first elected to public office in 1986, when he won a seat on Lebanon City Council as a Democrat. Folmer served only one two-year term on the council, and then took a nearly two-decade break from public office.

In 2005, he re-entered the fray, this time as a Republican, when he ran in the GOP primary against incumbent state Sen. David Brightbill, then the Senate Majority Leader.

Folmer won the seat due in large part to widespread anger over a pay raise state lawmakers voted for themselves in 2005. Folmer ran on a platform of spending control and beat Brightbill in the primary before going on to win the General Election. The 48th District at the time contained all of Lebanon and parts of Berks, Chester, Dauphin and Lancaster counties.

Folmer was re-elected most recently in 2018.

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