The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A 31-year-old Bronx man faces child pornography charges after he allegedly asked an 8-year-old township girl to send him nude pictures of herself.
Efrain A. Martinez was arrested in his Bronx home on Feb. 10, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
On Jan. 21, according to the release, township police received a tip that the 8-year-old was engaging in sexually explicit conversations with Martinez via a web site.
Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit initiated an investigation, according to the release, which showed that Martinez told the girl to send him a nude picture of herself through an instant messaging program.
At about 6 a.m. on Feb. 10, detectives from the New York City Police Department and the Bronx District Computer Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at Martinez’s home. Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the Franklin Township Police Department detectives were also on hand.
Police seized Martinez’s smart phone, and he was arrested without incident, according to the release.
Martinez was charged with 1st Degree manufacturing child pornography, 3rd Degree possession of child pornography and 3rd Degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to the release. Somerset County authorities will file for Martinez’s extradition to New Jersey.
