Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on June 9, Richard Knight, 40, of New Egypt, was charged with Distribution of Explicit Images of Minors and Possession of Explicit Images of Minors.
This investigation, which began in December 2020, was the result of numerous referrals from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The Task Force detected a user of the program Google Meets was uploading explicit images of minors to the internet.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit identified a residence in New Egypt as the source of the uploaded images of explicit images of minors.
According to officials, on June 9, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, United States Homeland Security Investigations, and Plumsted Township Police Department executed a court-authorized search warrant on Knight’s residence in New Egypt.
As a result, Detectives seized two cell phones from the residence. The investigation remains ongoing and additional charges may be forthcoming.
According to police, Knight was subsequently arrested at his place of employment in Browns Mills. Knight was processed at the Plumsted Township Police Department and transported to the Ocean County Jail where he is currently lodged pending a detention hearing.