LAKE HOPATCONG, NJ (Morris County) – A Morris County man Thursday admitted possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
William Mickel, 70, of Lake Hopatcong pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner in Trenton federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, Sellinger said.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from February 2022 through April 2022, Mickel, who was employed by Boy Scout camps in New Jersey, distributed and possessed images and videos of child sexual abuse.
Mickel used email accounts to distribute these materials, and stored hundreds of images and videos on electronic devices in his home. Some of the videos in Mickel’s possession depicted children who were surreptitiously recorded using bathrooms in the Boy Scout camps where Mickel worked.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3.
The count of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000. The count of possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
