
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of a Bergen County juvenile on child pornography charges. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love.
On Thursday, March 24, 2022, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at the residence of a juvenile during the course of an Internet child pornography investigation. The investigation revealed that the juvenile used the Internet to view, download, and possess more than 1,000 digital files depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children. In addition, the juvenile used the Internet to share digital files depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children. Further investigation revealed that the juvenile also used the camera on a smartphone to record and view an area of a public bathroom.
The juvenile was taken into protective custody and charged on March 24, 2022 as a juvenile delinquent with second-degree distribution of child pornography, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(5)(a)(ii); second-degree possession of child pornography, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(5)(b)(ii); and third-degree invasion of privacy, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9b(1). The juvenile was released into the custody of a guardian and is scheduled for a first appearance in the Chancery Division, Family Court in Hackensack.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.