WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) – A Washington Township man has been charged in connection with allegedly maintaining a peer-to-peer child abuse network, and possession of child sex abuse material, according to Morris County First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood.
John Green, 65, has been charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child (maintaining a peer-to-peer file sharing program of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM)), and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of CSAM).
The investigation began when the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit identified possible CSAM on a BitTorrent site in Morris County. BitTorrent is a Peer-to-Peer file sharing network, Calderwood said.
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office referred this information to the Morris County Prosecutor’s ICAC Task Force of the Sex Crimes / Child Endangerment Unit, Calderwood said.
A further investigation revealed numerous media files, each depicting the alleged sexual exploitation or abuse of a minor, stored on the BitTorrent site and these were accessible for download, Calderwood said.
It is alleged the BitTorrent was associated with Green’s residence, where he lives alone. A search of his electronic devices revealed additional items of suspected CSAM on his computer. An initial review revealed in excess of 1,000 items of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), Calderwood said.
Green was arrested on June 2 and on June 19, he was detained in the Morris County Correctional Facility, pursuant to the Criminal Justice Reform Act, Calderwood said.
The Hunterdon and Warren County Prosecutor’s Offices, the New Jersey State Police, Washington Township Police Department, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force assisted in the investigation.
Anyone with information related to this investigation, is encouraged to call the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of the Sex Crimes / Child Endangerment Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6200.
