LOGAN — A 32-year-old Pennsylvania man accused of trying to coerce two Cache Valley girls to send nude pictures of themselves to him has been determined to be incompetent to stand trial. Daniel Roy Kromer Jr. was released Wednesday from the Cache County Jail and transported to the Salt Lake City International Airport, so he could be flown back home.
Kromer appeared Mar. 10 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He was previously charged with two counts of aggravated sexual extortion of a child, a first-degree felony; two counts of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; four counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, all third-degree felonies.
Judge Spencer Walsh said Kromer had been evaluated by doctors at the State Hospital, who determined he was incompetent to stand trial and regressing cognitively. They had also reported that restoring competency was improbable.
According to an arrest affidavit, North Park Police officers began investigating Kromer in July 2023, after the mother of one of the alleged victims located disturbing messages on her daughter’s phone. The chats were between the suspect and her daughter and another girl, on a social media app called IMVU.
The girls, ages 10 and 11-years-old, told police how Kromer had contacted them, while posing as a girl named “Ashley Ortiz.” The messages from the supposed girl claimed she was being sexually assaulted and asked the alleged victims to “call Daniel and tell him to stop.”
When the young girls allegedly contacted Kromer, he told them he would stop “if they would send him nude photos of themselves,” the affidavit detailed.
During an interview at the Cache Children’s Justice Center, the alleged victims also described how Kromer sent pictures and videos of himself. Most of them were of him exposing and pleasuring himself.
North Park Police reported, one of the photos sent to the alleged victims showed Kromer wearing a firefighter uniform. Investigators were able to analyze the hard hat in the picture and found it connected to the Fountain Hill Fire Department. The fire chief at Fountain Hill was later able to identify the suspect as Kromer.
Police in Pennsylvania later executed a search warrant on Kromer’s residence and detained him. Several electronic devices were located that appeared to contain child pornography. Officers also found several message threads where it appeared the Pennsylvania man was requesting naked photos from other juveniles.
During Monday’s court hearing, Judge Walsh expressed concern about the allegations of Kromer being a firefighter. He explained though how he had spoken to attorneys, who clarified that the suspect had helped around a fire station, but was not mentally or physically capable of being an emergency responder.
Defense attorney Cameron Cox explained how he would escort Kromer to the airport and assure that he boards a flight back to Pennsylvania. The suspect would then be under the care of his grandmother, who he has lived with his entire adult life.