Jackson man had more than 500 images of child porn, prosecutor says
TOMS RIVER - A Jackson man has been charged with using an instant messaging app to send and receive pornographic videos of children, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced Tuesday.
Joseph D. Tuzzio Jr., 42, was found to have had more than 500 images of child pornography on his laptop after federal, county and local authorities raided his home in October — seizing two cell phones and the computer, the Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
Tuzzio was charged with possession of child pornography and three counts of distribution of child pornography on Monday, as a result of the investigation that followed the execution of a search warrant on Oct. 27, the statement said.
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The investigation also determined that Tuzzio was accessing the child pornography through an IP address assigned to his place of employment in Jackson, according to the Prosecutor’s Office. The business was not identified in the public statement.
The investigation and arrest is the result of three referrals from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the statement said.
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The ICAC Task Force detected that someone in the area was uploading images of child pornography using the Kik Messenger app.
An investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit identified Tuzzio as the app’s user, the statement said.
Law enforcement officers from the High Tech Crime Unit, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Investigations Unit and the Jackson Township Police Department then executed the search warrant at Tuzzio’s home in Jackson.
A communication data warrant was also issued to Kik for access to Tuzzio’s subscriber account.
The company’s logs indicated that Tuzzio’s account had received and distributed videos of child pornography, all according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
On Tuesday, accompanied by his lawyer, Tuzzio went to Jackson Police Headquarters where he surrendered to authorities. He was processed and taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River. He has since been released from custody pending adjudication in state Superior Court, the statement said.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean County NJ Prosecutor: Jackson man had 500 images of child porn
