A Westfield man has admitted to being in possession of thousands of digital files constituting images and videos depicting acts of Explicit Images of Minors, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo announced Wednesday.
Union County officials say Mr. Gregory L. Brown, Jr., 37, of the 300 block of John Street in Westfield, admitted to a charge of first-degree possession of child pornography with the intent to distribute during a Monday afternoon court hearing before Union County Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield, Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division.
A months-long investigation by the Special Prosecutions Unit of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, prompted by information provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, working through the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, resulted in Brown being arrested and charged in February 2019, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Rosenthal, who is handling the matter.
Through a thorough forensic search of multiple Tumblr social media accounts associated with Brown and multiple electronic devices belonging to him, including a mobile phone and a damaged tablet, several thousand files depicting various sexual acts with children were recovered by the Prosecutor’s Office’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, Rosenthal said.
This investigation was led by Prosecutor’s Office Detective Dennis Donovan, as well as members of the Special Prosecutions Unit, the Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Westfield Police Department.
Sentencing in the case has been tentatively scheduled for Friday, November 8, before Judge Caulfield, at which time Brown is expected to be sentenced to 10 years in state prison, with the full term to be served before the possibility of parole.
He will also be subject to the provisions of Megan’s Law and remain under parole supervision for life.