500 Child Porn Images Found On Jackson Mans Computer: Prosecutor – Patch
TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Jackson Township man is facing child pornography charges after authorities found he was sharing sexually explicit photos of children via the Kik messenger app, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Joseph D. Tuzzio Jr., 42, was charged Tuesday with possession of child pornography and three counts of distribution of child pornography, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Tuzzio was identified after detectives from the High Tech Crime Unit of the prosecutor’s office traced child pornography uploads via Kik to his Jackson address, the prosecutor’s office said. The detectives had received three referrals from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about the uploads, authorities said.
Tuzzio’s home in Jackson was searched on Oct. 27 under a search warrant, and detectives seized two cell phones and a laptop computer; a forensic examination of the computer turned up more than 500 sexually explicit images of children, the prosecutor’s office said.
A communication data warrant issued to Kik for the account Tuzzio had been using most recently showed the account as both receiving and distributing videos of child pornography, the prosecutor’s office said. The IP address associated with that activity was assigned to Tuzzio’s place of employment in Jackson, authorities said.
Tuzzio, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in at Jackson Township Police Headquarters on Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office said. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey bail reform, the prosecutor’s office said.
Authorities did not release Tuzzio’s photo.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Jackson Township Police Department, and New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force collaborated on the investigation.
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