The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A 28-year-old township man was arrested late last year after he was allegedly found with more than 1,000 videos and photos of child pornography, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office announced on January 26.
The man was arrested on December 12, 2023, after he was located in Manville, according to a press release from the Prosecutor’s Office.
Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit were told by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that the Center had received numerous tips relating to the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child, according to the release.
An investigation revealed that the man was suspected of uploading hundreds of videos and pictures which depicted the sexual abuse or exploitation of children younger than 18 years.
Crime Unit detectives and Manville Police located the man in Manville on December 12, where he was arrested, according to the release.
County detectives and Franklin Police searched the man’s home, from which they seized multiple electronic devices for further forensic testing, according to the release. An initial forensic examination of the man’s phone revealed evidence related to the crime.
The man was charged with 2nd Degree, Endangering the Welfare of the Child – Possession of Child Pornography over 1000 items, then lodged and later released from the Somerset County Jail in Somerville, according to the press release.
Anyone with information on this is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports, and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.
